About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2023)
8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, March 22,2023 Woman found guilty of killing her fiance, living with body for months Scott Rogers DCN Regional Staff Tabitha Wood takes the stand in Hall County Superior Court Wednesday, March 15, during her murder trial. Wood is accused of killing her 82-year-old fiance Leroy Franklin Kramer Jr. then living with the body for months. By Nick Watson DCN Regional Staff A Hall County jury convicted Tabitha Wood on all counts in the death of her 82-year-old fiance, Leroy Franklin Kramer Jr. Wood was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, exploitation of an elder person, concealing the death of another, financial transac tion card theft and aggravated assault against a person 65 years of age or older. The indictment accused Wood of inflicting traumatic injuries to Kramer’s neck and chest, though a specific weapon is not listed. The hyoid bone in Kramer’s neck and the thyroid cartilage, which is considered the front of the voice box, were severely damaged. The jury was allowed to consider a less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter in lieu of malice and felony murder. Deliberations lasted roughly 90 minutes. Sentencing will be held at a later date. Defense attorney Jake Shapiro asked Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton if Wood would be allowed to hug her mother. Because of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputies’ concerns, the hug request was denied. During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Harold Buckler displayed copies of the bank records, showing repeated CashApp transactions through early 2022. “By the time May rolls around, she is emptying his account, OK?” Buckler said. Buckler went through what he called Wood’s 12 stories she has told her friends, her family, Kramer’s family, law enforcement, the defense’s expert and the jury since early 2022. Over the three days of evidence, the prosecution highlighted how Wood claimed Kramer was still alive and living in Gilmer County and later telling multiple people that he took his own life. Shapiro repeatedly criticized the lack of testing for DNA, fingerprint and blood found on the walls and furniture, calling it an incompetent investigation. One of the reasons given for the lack of testing was that Wood said she did not suffer any bloody inju ries that would have led to the evi dence found at the scene. During his closing argument, Shapiro pulled out a belt and whipped it in the well of the court room to illustrate the abuse Wood testified she suffered at Kramer’s hands. He returned to the limited evidence allowed by the judge regarding prior abuse Wood claimed Kramer committed against other women by his admission. The family members who “couldn’t even call (Kramer) on Christmas” didn’t know Kramer like Wood did, Shapiro said. Responding to the “12 stories” part of the prosecution’s closing argument, Shapiro said Wood has consistently tried to tell people about how she was being abused. Shapiro vehemently implored the jury to not convict Wood of murder or the lesser option of voluntary manslaughter, asking them to find her not guilty of all charges. Wood asserted self-defense, though Buckler pointed to the fact that Wood did not testify to any vio lence that would have led to Kramer’s fatal injuries. As he rose to finish his closing argument, Buckler asked Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton if the defense was seeking to withdraw the voluntary manslaughter instruc tion. Shapiro said for legal reasons he could not, which Buckler pointed to as the defense trying to have it both ways. Shapiro objected to this, which was overruled by Burton. This story was originally pub lished in the Gainesville Times, a sister publication of DCN. For articles containing further information about last week's trial of Wood, visit our website at daw- sonnews.com. Photo courtesy of Jeramey Beck A driver captured the scene on Ga. 400 South where a multiple vehicle crash shut down the highway for hours during the Monday morning commute on March 6. A medical helicopter was brought in to airlift one victim to the hospital. Driver charged in collision that closed Ga. 400 By Kelly Whitmire DCN Regional Staff A suspect has been charged in a fatal crash that recently stopped traf fic on Ga. 400. Carmon Williams, 51, of Dahlonega, was charged with second-degree homi cide by vehicle and failure to maintain lane in con nection with a two-vehicle crash on southbound Ga. 400 during the morning commute on Monday, March 6. Williams was reportedly the driver of a vehicle that collided with a large truck. The wreck between a Hyundai Elantra and a car bon dioxide truck hap pened at about 8:20 a.m. between exits 14 and 13. An air ambulance had to land on the highway while first responders worked to rescue one woman who was trapped in a Hyundai car. The woman, 54-year-old Sharon Hall, later died from her injuries at the hospital. The drivers of the car and tanker truck were taken to the hospital for minor injuries. At the time of the acci dent, FCSO officials said, based on a preliminary investigation, the truck, a 2016 HINO single tanker unit carrying compressed C02 and several C02 con tainers, was traveling southbound in the outside lane while the Elantra trav eled in the middle lane. The driver of the car reportedly failed to main tain their lane, crossing over onto the right side before hitting the truck and forcing it off the right side of the road. From there, the FCSO stated both vehicles started to flip. “It appears that driver error is the only factor in the crash,” the FCSO stat ed at the time. This story was originally published in the Forsyth County News, a sister pub lication of DCN. 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