Left: Johnnie Alston (Clayton County Jail). Right: Alicia Alston (Facebook).
A Georgia man has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison after fatally shooting his wife of 10 years and leaving two of her children to discover her wounded on the floor of her bedroom, where prosecutors said there was “a massive amount of blood coming from her legs.”
Johnnie Alston was found guilty in the death of Alicia Alston on charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and two counts of cruelty to children, the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release. He was sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
The shooting happened at about 10 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2022, inside the family’s home in Ellenwood, a community roughly 20 miles southeast of Atlanta. According to prosecutors, two children heard gunfire coming from their mother’s bedroom and rushed toward the sound of her cries for help. They found 45-year-old Alicia Alston on the floor, bleeding heavily from her legs, while Johnnie Alston stood over her with a gun pointed in her direction.
After the shooting, Alston left the home and went to a gas station, where he said he stopped to “think,” before checking into a motel. Authorities arrested him several days later. Prosecutors said he later wrote an apology letter addressed to the children and his wife’s family.
Alston testified in his own defense during the trial, apparently hoping jurors would find him guilty of involuntary manslaughter rather than the more serious charges. The strategy failed. Prosecutors said jurors later described his testimony as the “strongest factor” in their decision to convict him on the top counts.
J’Kayla Smith, who was 16 at the time, told local NBC affiliate WXIA that she was one of the children who found her mother after the shooting.
“I’m just like, ‘what is he doing?’ I tell him, ‘John, what are you doing?’” she told the station.
That’s when her mother grabbed her attention.
“She tells me ‘call the police,'” J’Kayla said. “She’s like ‘close the door, call the police.'”
Authorities did not divulge a motive for the shooting, but the victim’s oldest daughter Jazmine Pennamon said her mother was considering a divorce.
“She was tired of her marriage and just having to deal with the things that came with him and wanted out of it,” Pennamon explained to WXIA. “He honestly didn’t even feel like a stepdad to us.”
Alicia Alston was a devoted mother of 12 who loved spending time with her kids.
“She was loved by everybody,” Pennamon said.
In a statement, District Attorney Tasha M. Mosley said: “I want to commend my team for their tireless dedication and hard work in securing justice on behalf of Mrs. Alston. While this conviction cannot undo the painful events of Dec. 30, 2022, it is our sincere hope that her family has found some sort of peace and closure through this outcome.”
