Man to serve life sentence for 2021 killing of Macon woman, prosecutors say
A Bibb County jury convicted a man who shot a woman he believed was his former girlfriend’s new partner. He was sentenced to life in prison, prosecutors said Friday.
Quteavis Quayshon Simmons was found guilty of malice murder for killing Harriett Patrick, “the wife, mother, veteran, and breast cancer survivor who had overcome so much, only to have her life stolen in an act of senseless violence,” according to a news release from the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
Patrick had just left a birthday party, driving home on Eisenhower Parkway on Oct. 10, 2021, when Simmons, whom she did not know, pulled up next to her and shot three times into her vehicle, the news release said. Simmons thought Patrick was his ex-girlfriend’s new partner, but the women didn’t know each other.
One bullet struck Patrick in the abdomen. She called her husband and son for help and drove herself home to meet with first responders, but died of her injuries 10 days later, prosecutors said.
Numerous challenges were presented in the case. No murder weapon was recovered, and two witnesses were forced to cooperate, “requiring the prosecution to attend out-of-state court hearings in Tennessee and last week in Chicago, Illinois, to compel their testimony and appearance in Macon,” prosecutors said in the news release.
The prosecution was eventually able to present evidence that identified Simmons as the shooter, the news release said.
Prosecutors asked that Simmons serve his life sentence without the possibility of parole, but the judge in the case ruled that Simmons should serve a life sentence with the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
“Harriett Patrick was an innocent woman who had her life stolen from her,” said District Attorney Anita R. Howard. “This senseless act of violence took a devoted wife, loving mother, proud veteran, and breast cancer survivor from her family and community. While no verdict can bring Harriett back, we are grateful that the jury saw through the defense’s arguments and held this defendant accountable for his heinous crime.”
