Alicia Alston

Alicia Alston was a 45-year-old Black woman and a devoted mother of twelve who was remembered by her family as being loved by everybody. Her daughter said she was tired of her marriage and was considering a divorce in the days before her death.

On the morning of December 30, 2022, a domestic dispute between Alicia and her husband of 10 years, Johnnie Alston, turned violent inside their Ellenwood, Georgia, home. Around 10 a.m., two of the children heard gunshots and their mother calling for help. They ran to the master bedroom to find their father standing over their mother with a handgun pointed at her. Alicia was on the floor, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and what the children described as a massive amount of blood coming from her legs. Clayton County police officers, responding to a call about a person shot, found Alicia outside the residence on Northwind Drive. She was rushed to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Johnnie Alston, then 57, fled the scene after the shooting. He went to a local gas station before checking into a motel. Following an investigation, authorities obtained warrants for his arrest and took him into custody on January 3, 2023. After his arrest, he admitted to shooting his wife and wrote an apology letter to their children and Alicia's family.

Johnnie Alston was indicted and went to trial in Clayton County. During the trial, he took the stand and testified, asking the jury to consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. Jurors later stated that his own testimony was a major factor in their decision to convict him on all counts.

In June 2026, the jury found Johnnie Alston guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional five consecutive years. As of his sentencing in June 2026, the case is closed.