WOODSTOCK. Ga. — A Cherokee County man has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of beating his ex-girlfriend to death.
According to prosecutors, 48-year-old Shannon Marie Goetz was found dead in the basement bedroom of her Woodstock home just days before Christmas in 2017.
They say Goetz was planning on moving to Florida the day she was found dead after recently breaking up with her boyfriend, 53-year-old James Damon Clements.
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Investigators found that earlier that day, Clements pulled a knife on two of Goetz’s roommates in what they described as a “jealous rage” and accused them of being romantically interested in Goetz.
Witnesses told police that during the incident, Goetz stood “scared and silent” in the doorway before going into the basement bedroom with Clements. That was the last time anyone saw her alive.
Prosecutors say Clements later used Goetz’s cell phone to call 911 and pretended to be the owner of the home.
After making the call, Clements allegedly fled to Cobb County and got a hotel room under a fake name. He was arrested in Marietta two days later.
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Goetz’s autopsy confirmed she had more than 34 injuries to her head and body. She ultimately died from a brain injury.
“The evidence in this case proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant was solely responsible for the death of Shannon Goetz, and that it was his brutal beating that took her life,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney Susan Treadaway. “Everyone in that house was afraid of this man, and Shannon Goetz died as a result of his rage.”
In February, Clements was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, family violence aggravated battery, simple assault and battery.
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A judge sentenced him to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for Goetz’s murder. He was also sentenced serve a 20 year sentence for aggravated assault on one of the roommates and one year for simple assault against the other roommate at the same time as his life sentence.
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