ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — In April 2019, Alfred Jermaine Arnold killed a Rockdale County woman. Now the Georgia Supreme Court has reaffirmed his conviction.
A Rockdale County jury indicted Arnold for the death of April Goolsby on charges of malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, aggravated assault, arson and theft by taking.
He was found guilty on all counts in April 2023, but appealed his conviction, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to support the guilty verdict.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
According to the Georgia Supreme Court, while Arnold filed a motion for a new trial, it was denied, and he appealed again due to claims that he wasn’t properly informed of who prosecutors would bring to the stand before the trial.
On Tuesday, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled to affirm Arnold’s conviction.
He remains convicted, found guilty of beating Goolsby to death on April 5 or April 6, 2019. Her body was not discovered until nearly a week later, when a neighbor went to check on Goolsby on April 12, 2019.
An investigation by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office determined that Arnold had been staying at Goolsby’s home for a few weeks after the two met at a “liquor house” in Conyers, court records say.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Apalachee High School shooting suspect could be offered plea deal
- 17 arrested in Henry County sex trafficking sting
- Former GA school bus driver arrested, charged with grooming a minor
Evidence at Goolsby’s home showed that she had been beaten to death and then a fire was lit before being extinguished by someone, leaving residue behind, prosecutors argued. Bloody clothes were found in the home, as well as blood spatter on the wall and what officers said was a carjack near Goolsby’s body.
As for what led to the incident, Arnold told the court at trial that he and Goolsby had a “bit of a confrontation,” and he was kicked out of the house.
The justices in the state’s highest court determined that Arnold’s claims over evidence and testimony as grounds for dismissal could not stand and his conviction was affirmed.
The court also found that Arnold had not provided enough evidence to meet the burden of proving his previous trial was deficient.
As a result, Arnold lost his appeal and will have to serve out a life sentence, plus six years to run concurrently. He is not eligible for parole.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
