Stephanie Jean Riddle, a 35-year-old mother of five, found her life tragically cut short on July 7, 2016, in a Hapeville, Georgia, hotel. Her death was the culmination of a period of escalating domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend, Jerrell Berger. In the days leading up to the fatal shooting, Riddle had made the decision to end her relationship with Berger due to his repeated physical abuse.
His response to this was violent; he attacked her, pulling out her hair and striking her in the face with a metal vacuum cleaner.
Following this brutal assault, Riddle contacted the police, and Berger was arrested. However, he was charged with a misdemeanor and released from the Fulton County Jail on a $2,000 bond just two days later. The bond conditions stipulated that he was to have no contact with Riddle, a condition he immediately violated. Upon his release, Berger went directly to her home and confronted her. Although concerned neighbors called 911, Berger fled the scene before police could apprehend him. During this encounter with law enforcement, a fearful Riddle told officers, 'If you don't arrest him, he is going to kill me.'
Her chilling prediction came true the very next day. Berger located Riddle at her place of employment, the Hilton Atlanta Airport, and chased her into a room she was cleaning. There, he shot her six times, with the final shot being described as 'execution-style' to her head. Hapeville police subsequently arrested Berger for her murder.
In October 2017, Jerrell Berger pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of Stephanie Jean Riddle.
