COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his longtime girlfriend last year.
Melinda Jolly, a mother of four, was found dead in her home in Jan. 2024. Last week, Charles Cook was convicted of killing her and sentenced to life in prison.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Jolly’s family told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that they knew something was wrong when they couldn’t reach her. Jolly’s cousin went to the home to check on her and found her body.
After a multi-state search, officers were able to find and arrest Cook in Florida.
The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office says Cook also committed crimes against Jolly’s kids before she was killed.
Cook was allegedly drunk when he picked Jolly’s 4-year-old twins up from school. Investigators say one of those kids wandered out of the house after he fell asleep and got trapped in Jolly’s car for 30 minutes. Police had to break a window to rescue the child.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Suspect, victim in deadly shooting at McDonald’s in Gwinnett were coworkers, police say
- 3 children killed in fire at Atlanta apartment complex
- Delta offering $30,000 to every passenger on plane that flipped in Toronto
Jolly’s sister says she learned her sister was in an abusive relationship shortly before her death.
And a neighbor says he wishes he would have known sooner.
“I could have been of some help, you know? A life could have been saved,” the neighbor said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
