Fatal domestic violence incident results in life sentence

A Marietta man quickly learned his sentence last week after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in April 2021. The Cobb District Attorney’s Office announced that Willie Felix Thompson was sentenced to life in prison. 

The Marietta Police Department responded on April 19, 2021 to a 911 call regarding a person shot at 227 Goldie Drive. When they arrived they found Thompson, 63, intoxicated and outside. Thompson’s girlfriend, Felicia Sullivan, was found shot to death in the back bedroom of the home that the two shared. A 9mm semi-automatic pistol, owned by Thompson, was found on the bed near Sullivan’s body. 

A police investigation determined that the two had been in a long-term romantic relationship that included a history of domestic violence. After killing Sullivan, Thompson contacted his sister and told her he had shot the victim. Thompson was immediataely arrested on aggravated assault and murder charges.

Thompson testified during his trial that he was acting in self-defense and the firearm went off accidentally. Testimony provided by officers and detectives with the Marietta Police Department, Thompson‘s and Sulivan’s family members, the Cobb County Medical Examiner, and the GBI Crime Lab painted a different picture for the jury. 

In addition, physical evidence presented to the jury by Senior Assistant District Attorney David Williamson included the 9mm pistol and video footage from the responding officers’ body-worn cameras aided in Thompson being found guilty. 

Cobb Superior Court Judge Angela Brown sentenced Thompson to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the jury found him guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of firearm during commission of a felony.

D.A. Wilkerson commented after the verdict saying, “This murder was the culmination of years of abuse. This verdict and sentence send a sobering reminder about the cycle of violence in domestic abuse. Domestic violence in any form cannot, and will not, be tolerated in Cobb County.”