Judge deciding whether jurors will hear Bibb murder suspect’s statement to police

A Bibb County judge is considering whether jurors will one day hear Ali Lamont Tanner’s statement to police in the days after his girlfriend was stabbed to death.

The judge also is determining whether evidence from a prior case involving Tanner and his then-wife can be used during his trial.

Tanner, 39, is charged with murder and family violence-related aggravated assault in the 2014 death of Shauntrice Michele Williams, 27.

Tanner admitted stabbing Williams as her then-3-year-old son slept nearby in a Macon motel room, according to an arrest warrant in the case.

He told investigators he wrapped Williams’ body in a bedspread and threw her in a Dumpster outside the Discovery Inn on Chambers Road. He also said he threw the knife into a wooded area behind the motel, according to the warrant.

Authorities found Williams’ body at the Taylor County landfill Dec. 3.

Mark Beberman, Tanner’s lawyer, filed a motion last month in Bibb County Superior Court alleging that any statements Tanner gave to police were “made after an unequivocal request for counsel” and without “an intelligent, knowing and voluntary waiver of the right to counsel.”

During a pretrial hearing Wednesday, Beberman and prosecutor Jonathan Adams agreed to let Judge Howard Simms decide whether jurors will hear about Tanner’s statements, after the judge reviews video and audio recordings of the interviews.

Adams said he also plans to present evidence of Tanner’s prior conviction in a battery case involving his then-wife.

In 2009, Tanner was charged with aggravated assault and battery. In that case, it was alleged that he used a knife in the assault, Adams said.

Tanner pleaded guilty to battery in 2010 and was sentenced to five years on probation, according to court records.

Adams argued that jurors should hear about Tanner’s previous case because it would help explain his intent and that what happened to Williams wasn’t an accident.

Beberman disagreed and argued against the prosecution’s being allowed to use the evidence.

The judge didn’t rule Wednesday.

Tanner is being held at the county jail without bond.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Judge deciding whether jurors will hear Bibb murder suspect’s statement to police ."