Trial Set for Cherokee County Woman Charged with Husband's Murder

Six years after an Atlanta attorney’s remains were found on his Free Home property, his wife who is accused of his murder is set to stand trial next week.

In July 2018, Cherokee Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home on Purcell Lane in the Free Home community after human remains were located on the property. The remains, which were burned extensively, were later identified as Gary Farris, 58, an attorney who owned the property and lived there with his wife, Melody Farris.

In analyzing crime scene evidence, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation determined that Gary Farris was killed by gunshot wound and listed his manner of death as homicide.

Nearly a year later, Melody Farris was arrested in Tullahoma, Tennessee and taken into custody in Cherokee County.

She is charged with malice murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and concealing the death of another. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial is scheduled to start Oct. 7.

Jury selection started Wednesday and the Cherokee County Superior Court made final juror decisions Friday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Judge David Cannon Jr. said that due to the serious nature of the case and the defense’s not guilty plea, the trial may last “three to four weeks.”

For updates on the trial, go to www.tribuneledgernews.com.