Family of slain UGA professor ‘devastated’ by once-accused boyfriend’s acquittal
The family of a University of Georgia professor whose 2019 strangulation death led to murder and manslaughter charges against her boyfriend — and, last week, his acquittal — issued a public statement Wednesday.
The statement, written by a niece of late entomology professor Marianne C. Shockley, was sent to The Telegraph.
The four-sentence remarks mentioned how Shockley’s kin were “devastated” by Friday’s “not guilty” verdict in the trial of Marcus Allen Lillard.
Lillard, 44, had been accused of felony murder, aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in Shockley’s May 2019 death at a home east of Milledgeville.
On Friday evening, after hearing four days of testimony, a Baldwin County jury deliberated for about half an hour before acquitting Lillard of all charges.
Shockley, a mother of two who was 43 when she died, lived in Apalachee, a Morgan County town between Madison and Athens, where she worked at the university and was a renowned expert in the study of insects.
Her relatives’ statement said:
The family of Marianne Shockley is devastated by the jury’s April 8 verdict. Although justice in a courtroom would not have brought back Marianne, we sought accountability for this loss that will affect our lives forever. We thank the brave women who testified during this trial, as well as District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale, Assistant District Attorney Nancy Scott Malcor and her team, and everyone who has advocated for and supported our family during the last three years. Our lives will never be the same, but Marianne Shockley’s impact on everyone who knew her will live on forever.