After a week-long trial, Ralph Junior Butler, 59, of Winder, was sentenced to life without parole in Barrow County Superior Court, a City of Winder news release states. Butler was convicted on all counts related to the murder of Yolanda Hammond, 50, on the night of August 11, 2023.
The assault occurred on Bush Chapel Drive in Winder when Butler stabbed Hammond multiple times with a broken golf club.
The golf club broke when Butler assaulted another man with it and broke his car window just before stabbing Hammond with it, the release states.
Butler claimed he was upset because he believed Hammond had stolen $700 in cash from his wallet and 80 of his prescribed Oxycodone pills earlier in the day.
Butler drove to the scene where he knew Hammond would be to confront her.
After the fatal assault, Butler fled the scene but was found the following morning, hiding from police at a relative’s home in Bethlehem. His arrest resulted from collaborative efforts by the Winder Police Department and the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.
Butler’s trial began on Monday, March 11, with jury selection followed by two prosecutors from the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office presenting multiple items of evidence from 20 witnesses over two days.
After hearing all the evidence presented in the trial, the jury deliberated for approximately 30 minutes and ultimately found Butler guilty on all seven criminal charges: malice murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and criminal trespass.
Piedmont Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm presided over the case and, upon receiving the verdict from the jury, sentenced Butler to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
