Atlanta man pleads guilty to strangling his wife of 15 years just two days after signing divorce papers – Byron Whynn, 53, was scared a divorce from ‘bread winner’, Sheryl Murdock would render him homeless
Man from Douglasville, Ga., pleads guilty to strangling his wife of 15 years just two days after signing divorce papers
Byron Whynn, 53, admitted to killing his wife, Sheryl Murdock, 41, in Nov 2016, then staging the crime scene
He strangled her a day after Thanksgiving following an argument over divorce
Sheryl Murdock, 41, reportedly was bread winner of household
Whynn was upset about leaving their home once the divorce was finalized
He pled guilty to felony murder Monday morning, just before his trial was set to begin.
He received a sentence of life in prison following his guilty plea
Byron Whynn, 53, had been accused of killing his wife, 41-year-old Sheryl Murdock in November 2016. The Douglasville man strangled his wife to death on the floor of their bedroom two days after signing divorce papers.
The killing occurred a day after Thanksgiving following an argument over their divorce proceedings.
On April 29, Whynn entered a guilty plea to murder and received a life sentence in prison.
Byron Whynn [photo], 53, will serve a life sentence after he pled guilty to strangling his wife of 15 years, two days after they signed divorce papers in Atlanta, Ga
Byron Whynn admitted to killing his wife, Sheryl Murdock, at the home the couple shared with their teenage daughter along Georgia Drive in Atlanta, Ga in Nov 2016
An autopsy revealed “extensive hemorrhaging” in victim’ss neck, more than is typically seen in strangulation cases, authorities said.
Investigators also discovered what they believe were defensive wounds on Whynn’s arm.
“It was a very shallow scratch on his right forearm in between what appeared to be claw marks,” Leonard said.
“Our position was going to be those were defensive wounds. When he was choking her with his hands around her throat, she was clawing at his arm.”
Investigators believe Whynn initially planned to remove Murdock’s body from the home and dump it elsewhere, but say he notified police when his daughter called from her friend’s house and demanded to speak with her mother.
Police said Whynn moved both cars from their driveway and vacuumed around his wife’s body.
At the end of the couple’s street, detectives found torn up divorce papers inside a trash can with the suspect’s fingerprints on them.
He pled guilty to felony murder Monday morning, just before his trial was set to begin.
Leonard said: ‘Hopefully his daughter and the rest of her family can achieve some closure from this plea and continue to heal from their loss.’
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