In the summer of 2015, the life of 17-year-old Robert Joseph 'RJ' White Jr. was tragically cut short in a burst of violence. On the night of Sunday, June 14, in Forest Park, Georgia, White was discovered with a gunshot wound at the Fox Hall Apartments located on Forest Avenue. He was rushed to Southern Regional Medical Center, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the young man's death quickly led authorities to a suspect. The day after the shooting, police arrested 19-year-old Thyrell Depree Donaldson in connection with the homicide. At the time of the arrest, the motive for the shooting and the nature of the relationship between White and Donaldson remained unclear to investigators. Donaldson was subsequently charged with murder, and the case proceeded through the Clayton County judicial system.
Thyrell Depree Donaldson was tried by a jury and ultimately convicted for his role in the death of Robert White, Jr. The charges included felony murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Following the conviction, Donaldson appealed the verdict. On December 11, 2017, the Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the case and affirmed his conviction for felony murder and one count of firearm possession. Due to a legal technicality known as a merger error, the court vacated the convictions for aggravated assault and the second firearm-possession count.
