In the city of Savannah, Georgia, a welfare check on January 24, 2017, led to a tragic discovery. Inside her apartment on Mercy Boulevard, 26-year-old Wynesha Medley was found deceased. Officers from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police arrived at the Joseph's Landing Apartment complex around 2:30 in the afternoon to find the young woman's life had been cut short. An investigation into her death began immediately, with detectives suspecting it was not a random act of violence. The medical examiner would later determine that Wynesha’s death was a homicide caused by strangulation; she had been found with a pair of leggings around her neck and had abrasions on her forehead and left eye.
The investigation quickly focused on her ex-boyfriend, John Padgett, who was 30 years old at the time. Wynesha had ended her relationship with him in November 2016 after several months of dating. In the weeks that followed the breakup, Padgett's behavior became increasingly alarming. He sent aggressive text messages that prompted Wynesha to change her phone number and showed up at her apartment uninvited, banging on the door and crying for them to get back together. The day before her body was discovered, Wynesha had called the police, reporting her belief that Padgett had intentionally turned off the power to her apartment and asking how she could obtain a protective order against him. A maintenance worker confirmed that a breaker connected only to her unit had been switched off.
Within a week of the discovery of Wynesha's body, the investigation culminated in an arrest. On January 30, 2017, John Padgett was taken into custody at his home in Port Wentworth by the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police with assistance from a U.S. Marshals Service task force. He was charged with murder. The case against him was built on a foundation of compelling evidence. Forensic testing revealed Padgett's DNA under Wynesha's fingernails, indicating a struggle. Furthermore, cell phone location data placed him in the vicinity of her apartment around the time authorities believe she was killed. When investigators interviewed Padgett just a day after her death, they noted scratches on his hands and arms, though he denied having been to her apartment since the previous December.
In May 2021, John Padgett stood trial before a Chatham County jury. He was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. After hearing the evidence presented by the prosecution, the jury found him guilty on all counts. The court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Wynesha Medley. Following his conviction, Padgett sought a new trial, but his motion was denied. He then appealed his case to the Supreme Court of Georgia, arguing that his trial counsel had been ineffective. In a decision dated into 2025, the state's highest court reviewed and ultimately affirmed the conviction, ensuring that John Padgett would remain behind bars for ending the life of his former girlfriend.
