A Georgia man was convicted Friday of killing a woman with a broken golf club after he accused her of stealing money and Oxycodone pills from him.
Ralph Junior Butler, 59, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the August 2023 killing of Yolanda Hammond immediately after the verdict was reached in the week-long trial in Barrow County Superior Court, according to a release from the city of Winder.
Prosecutors said Butler, of Winder, stabbed Hammond with the golf club that Butler broke earlier that day when he used it to assault another man and break his car window.
Butler became enraged when he thought Hammond stole $700 in cash from his wallet and about 80 of his prescribed Oxycodone pills.
He fled the murder scene but was found the next morning in a relative's home.
The jury deliberated for about 30 minutes before finding Butler guilty of seven charges: malice murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and criminal trespass, the release from the city said.
