'Smug' Strangler Sentenced 20 Years: Cobb DA

MARIETTA, GA — A Carrollton man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of strangling the mother of his baby, according to a release from the Cobb County District Attorney.

Derek James Burns, 29, was at the victim's Marietta residence around 10:30 p.m. on April 19, 2018 when the two were arguing. The District Attorney said he put her in a choke hold until she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she realized he had dragged her across the floor and into a corner, the release says, where he told her not to lift her head until he was gone, or he would shoot her and make it look like a suicide.

The release says he often laughed and had a smug demeanor throughout the trial.

The state called a former girlfriend of Burns' as a witness, who testified he also choked her until she was unconscious while they were together.

The victim had been sexually assaulted in another county in 1999, the release says, but a three-year trial resulted in an acquittal of the alleged assaulter. The victim "showed tremendous courage in once again placing her trust in our judicial system and the hands of Cobb County prosecutors and jurors," Senior Assistant District Attorney Shepard Orlow said in the release.

On Friday, the Cobb jury delivered a verdict in just over an hour. Burns was found guilty of aggravated assault (strangulation), false imprisonment, simple battery and simple assault.

After the verdict, Superior Court Senior Judge Adele Grubbs told Burns he is "vicious and harmful," the release says, and sentenced him to 22 years, two of which are on probation.

Burns has been in custody since April 2018, and the time since will go towards his total sentencing.

From the District Attorney's Office:

Help is available for anyone suffering abuse in an intimate relationship. Locally, LiveSAFE Resources can help victims break free from domestic violence. Their 24-hour crisis line is 770-427-3390, and they are on the web at www.livesaferesources.org

The National Domestic Violence Hotline also provides resources to victims, regardless of location. The hotline number is 1-800-799-7233. www.thehotline.org