A Georgia man who brutally murdered a woman who rejected what has been described as obsessive romantic behavior is now slated to spend the rest of his life in prison , it has been reported.
Antonio Wilson, 43, allegedly became agitated after a woman he had been dating for only a short period rejected jewelry and a ring he had bought her as she appeared to feel that the pace of the relationship was too quick.
So, in June 2019, he drove to the home of Fabiola Thomas, 39, broke in and strangled her after discovering where she lived. The case, which is being described and was prosecuted as domestic violence by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, according to Law & Crime , is a cut-and-dry one involving a home invasion and a strangulation that ended in Thomas' death.
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Prosecutors showed during the trial that the couple had met on a dating app, though which one wasn't immediately clear, ABC affiliate WSB reported. The woman decided to play things safe, according to Assistant District Attorney Abigail Potter, who spoke to WSB.
"Ms. Thomas did everything that you would think you should do. She told her friends where she was going. She would only meet him in public places," she said. Feeling that things were moving too fast, she eventually rejected Wilson, unfriending him the day before she died, according to Senior Assistant District Attorney Nalda Charles, who also spoke to WSB.
In a text to Wilson, Thomas reportedly wrote, "I don't give a [redacted] about a ring. keep your ring, I'm not your woman, never was, stop claiming me because I never claimed u."
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Another text reads, "u crazy, I don't want nothing from a man I barely communicate with, jewelry, money ... don't mean nothing to me if you don't know who I am."
It wasn't exactly clear how Wilson determined that Thomas lived at the Atlantic Newtown Apartments in Roswell, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta, but he allegedly did, and then he allegedly broke in and strangled her to death.
He then left her body in her bathtub. She still had her pajamas on, Charles told WSB, which she said is "the most chilling part." The woman had been getting ready for work when she was murdered.
"It was just so egregious. It was unnecessary. It didn't have to happen. She was unarmed, defenseless and in her home, all because she said no," Charles said.
The murder occurred sometime in the early morning hours of June 8, 2019, and neighbors reportedly told the police that they had seen Thomas outside near her car at approximately 7:30 a.m. At about 8:40 a.m., her roommate called the police, "frantic and hysterical," telling law enforcement that "something bad had happened to her," initial reports from the police indicate.
Wilson was ultimately charged with malice murder and arrested in October 2019, it was reported, and he was convicted on Tuesday this week. The jury made a decision after just 30 minutes of deliberation after hearing from witnesses and others who placed the killer at the apartment as well as viewing crime scene photos that showed what transpired, WSB reported.
Family members and friends grew emotional during the sentencing, the TV station reported, with one loved one saying through tears, "Her life mattered. She lived with purpose." Thomas' brother, Myrto Charles, told the station, "My sister was attacked and murdered in her home. My sister enjoyed and loved life. She had dreams and goals she wanted to accomplish, yet that all died with her when she was gasping for her last breath."
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