‘I will never heal:’ 4 years since the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick
It was four years ago Friday that three men chased and attacked a 25-year-old man in Brunswick.
They’re now in prison for life and Ahmaud Arbery’s family is working to make sure the community remembers his name.
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“As a mom, I will never heal,” Wanda Cooper Jones, Arbery’s mother, previously told Action News Jax.
Arbery, who was running that day, was shot and killed after being chased for several minutes by men in cars; Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan.
The men told police they believed Arbery was breaking into homes. The McMichaels were in one car and Bryan was in another.
Glynn County Police knew Gregory McMichael because of his background in government service. When they got to the scene, they didn’t question the self-defense claims of the three men. No one was arrested for more than two months.
RELATED: Judge rejects effort to dismiss case against former DA charged in Ahmaud Arbery killing’s aftermath
A video of the deadly 2020 shooting, captured by Bryan, went viral and the three men were arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that May.
They were charged with felony murder and other crimes.
“They gave us a sense of a small victory, but we as a family will never get victory, because Ahmaud is gone forever,” Cooper Jones said.
TIMELINE: The investigation into the killing of Ahmaud Arbery
On Jan. 7, 2022, the McMichaels were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 20 years. Bryan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The next month, the men were found guilty in federal court of a hate crime.
“I’m very proud to say that we finally got justice for Ahmaud on the federal level,” Cooper Jones said.
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But there’s still one case left to prosecute.
“Jackie Johnson—you are not above the law. You coming to justice,” Marcus Arbery Sr., Arbery’s father, said.
Johnson, the former Brunswick District Attorney, is charged with hindering the police investigation. She hasn’t had a court hearing in more than a year.
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“My son and I have been involved in a shooting and I need some advice right away,” Gregory McMichael could be heard saying in a call to Johnson after the shooting.
Legal documents show there were 16 calls between the two.
Lawmakers passed a resolution earlier this month, making Feb. 23 Ahmaud Arbery Day in Georgia.
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