COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County man has been convicted of murder after killing an AT&T employee and disposing of him in a dumpster, according to Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady, Jr.
On October 9, 2021, Cobb police responded to a shopping plaza on Chastain Meadows Court in Kennesaw in reference to a foul-smelling package inside a dumpster. When they arrived, they found a package containing a human body.
After an autopsy was conducted, no cause of death could be determined, but the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Later, the body was identified as AT&T employee James Creighton, who had been reported missing just a few weeks earlier.
Creighton’s last known location was Kennesaw per the Citizens app, which happened to be where 54-year-old Garfield Norris lived.
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After a lengthy investigation, police determined that Norris was in possession of Creighton’s BMW within hours of Creighton’s disappearance.
Additionally, Norris took multiple trips to his storage facility in Creighton’s BMW.
He also visited the site where he dumped Creighton’s body at least four times before dumping his body.
Following Norris’ arrest, detectives found a fake bill of sale for the BMW that had Creighton’s forged signature as well as messages about what police can do during a missing persons investigation.
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Norris’ wife told police that the vehicle reeked of a strong odor.
“James was generous to a fault. He went out of his way to help this defendant and in return, this defendant maliciously murdered him and threw him in a dumpster” said senior assistant district attorney Stephanie Green. “This defendant spent countless hours wrapping James up and multiple weeks harboring his dead body. This sentence ensures he will die in prison for his heinous actions.”
Norris was found guilty of malice murder, concealing the death of another, theft by taking, and related offenses.
He was sentenced to life without parole with an additional 23 years and 12 months to run consecutively.
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