Latest news with #PeachtreeCity
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Residents express amazement after seeing mystery object streak across the sky
More than 200 people across a half-dozen southern U.S. states have now reported witnessing a mysterious object streak across the sky on Thursday, but no one is certain exactly what it was. The object was likely either a meteor or space junk, with most sightings of the streak of light and fireball coming from Georgia and South Carolina around 12:30 p.m., according to a report from the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia. As of Friday afternoon, at least 215 reports of the object have poured into the American Meteor Society with many people expressing wonder and amazement in their reports. 'It was a bright fireball,' a woman in Bethlehem, Georgia, wrote. 'It did have a bright tail that disappeared with it, and left behind a smoke trail,' she added. 'I've never seen anything like it before.' A man in Milledgeville, Georgia, reported that 'I believe it hit the ground.' The roof of a Georgia home is pierced A resident of Henry County, Georgia, reported a rock coming through their roof around the time they heard the sonic boom from the fireball. It left behind a hole in the ceiling about the size of a golf ball and a crack in a laminate floor at the home southeast of Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia. 'We are presuming that a piece of the object fell through their roof,' the weather service said in a brief statement on social media. Dashboard and doorbell cameras across several states in the southeastern U.S. states caught glimpses of the fireball that appeared to be plummeting straight down. Broad daylight sighting is rare Meteors and other space debris frequently enter Earth's atmosphere, but it is rare for an object to be so bright it can easily be seen in broad daylight. Videos of the event showed clear skies on Thursday, allowing many to see the object falling. 'First time to ever see an event in daylight like this,' a man in Cumming, Georgia, north of Atlanta, said in his report to the meteor society. 'It was so bright in the middle of the day... brighter than the sun,' a woman in Dublin, Georgia reported. Bright fireballs are caused by friction as an object enters the atmosphere and slows down considerably. Almost all objects break into minuscule pieces before striking the ground, according to NASA.
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Fireball in the sky over US as suspected meteor rattles Georgia and the Carolinas
A 'fireball' that may have been a meteor burned through the sky on Tuesday just after noon in north Georgia. Reports say the fireball could also be seen from parts of North Carolina and South Carolina. The National Weather Service did not initially recognise what it saw on its radar, said Dylan Lusk, a senior meteorologist at the service's Peachtree City station, as the fireball resembled a lightning strike on the service's global lightning mapper. The Atlanta area has had a spate of strong lightning storms over the last day, which led many to dismiss the boom as more lightning
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Life sentence ends early for Peachtree City man convicted of killing his wife. At 77, Lewis Joyner paroled
The Brief After almost 30 years in prison for the strangling and beating death of his wife, Lewis Joyner, now 77, was set free Thursday by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. During the runup to the 1996 Summer Olympics, the case captivated metro Atlanta. Two women went missing, then turned up dead in the back of a van at Hartsfield Airport. Joyner claimed self-defense at trial, but a jury found him guilty of killing Ruby Joyner. He was acquitted of killing Halima Jones, his wife's friend who investigators said he was having an affair with. Joyner had been denied parole seven times before. One of Ruby's nieces said of his release, "We kind of knew this day was coming, but we didn't know it was coming this soon." PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - It's a tough week for the family of a woman strangled and beaten to death 30 years ago. The convicted killer, her husband, walked free Thursday, despite a life sentence for murder. On the same day Lewis Albert Joyner's parole became effective, the Georgia Department of Corrections confirmed to the FOX 5 I-Team that the now 77-year-old has left state custody. "When they said it was a life sentence, we assumed it was going to be a life sentence," one of Ruby Joyner's nieces, Grenda Hemingway, told the I-Team, "that you would never see daylight, see the outside of prison, again." One of his parole conditions: Complete a domestic violence course. Click to open this PDF in a new window. The backstory Joyner's alleged crimes – not all of which he was convicted on – shook the metro Atlanta area during the months leading up to the Summer Olympics. On Nov. 15, 1995, close friends Ruby Joyner, 43, and Halima Jones, 40, went missing during a shopping trip. Six days later, police found them dead in the back of Halima's minivan parked at Hartsfield Airport. Halima had been shot in the head. Ruby had been strangled and beaten. Meanwhile, Ruby's husband, Lewis Joyner, owner of a moving and storage company, left town for New York City during the search for his wife. Two of his nieces told FOX 5 they still recall their last conversations with him, when he phoned each of them while he was still on the run. "I'm listening, and I'm trying to put it all together, but it wasn't making any sense," Coretta Livingston-Byrd, of Charlotte, N.C., said. Grenda, of Pompano Beach, Florida, said her uncle told her that while searching for Ruby, he lost his driver's license, so he had to go back to New York – something she said made no sense. "I knew something wasn't right when he told me, 'Don't tell the rest of the family,'" Grenda said. "And I did just the opposite. I got them all together and we rallied together." Within a week of the bodies being found, Joyner was captured in Harlem after a scuffle with a police officer on a rooftop. The officer found a bottle of cocaine on him. Joyner was charged with murder, drug possession, and resisting arrest, then extradited back to Georgia. The other side Authorities searched Joyner's house and found a large quantity of cocaine, raising suspicions of drug trafficking. Investigators also discovered he had been having an affair with Halima Jones. At trial, Joyner pointed a finger at his dead wife, calling her a killer. He claimed he had met the two women in a restaurant parking lot, and that while Ruby went inside to use the restroom, he and Halima embraced and kissed in the car. When Ruby returned, he claimed, she took the driver's seat of Halima's minivan and drove the three of them to a secluded wooded area. Then, he told the jury, she hopped out of the car and opened fire on her friend. "Ruby shouted … you cheating (expletive). And fired the gun," he said on the witness stand. "I saw the gun pointing at me … I said to myself, 'This is how I'm going to die.'" In his account, Ruby chased him into the woods and pounced on him. So he killed her in self-defense. Grenda said that's not how her aunt would have handled discovering an affair. "She's afraid of weapons. So I know she didn't have a weapon," Grenda said. "She would have just left him – I know she would have just left him. She wouldn't have jeopardized her life like that." The State's Side Fulton County prosecutors argued Joyner wanted his wife out of the way because of financial troubles and his affair with Halima. Prosecutor Penny Penn said Joyner tried to shoot his wife, but accidentally shot his mistress. Then he chased Ruby down. "When the defendant caught up to her, either being out of bullets, or because he was actually close to her, he made contact with her," Penn told the jury. "He proceeded to beat her to death and strangle her." The jury found Joyner guilty of murdering his wife, but with insufficient evidence, acquitted him of Halima's death. After the verdict, Penn noted that only Joyner knows what really happened on Nov. 15, 1995. "There are just a lot of questions that we still have that only Lewis Joyner can answer," the prosecutor told FOX 5 at the time. "And he has not chosen to do that truthfully." With his release from state custody this week, he remains the only person alive who knows the truth. What they're saying Coretta Livingston-Byrd, one of his nieces, said she hopes the parole board made the right decision. "My stance is a little different than probably most of my family," she said. "He was a very special uncle to me. I still have a lot of unanswered questions that I think about every single day, because of mine and his relationship." But she noted that some of her family members who pushed for justice for Ruby have since died, too, including her mother, grandmother and uncle. "I know they would really have a problem with this happening," Coretta said. Grenda said her grandmother, Ruby's mother, died a few years after the killings. "It really destroyed our family," she said. "My grandmother went into a depression and she never came out, because she was like, why her daughter? Why Ruby? "She was a kind, gentle person," Grenda said. "She loved her family. She loved her nieces. She loved her brothers and sisters. And most of all, she loved her mother." Both nieces said they don't expect to ever speak to their uncle again. Coretta said she might be open to a conversation, while Grenda said it's not happening. "My question to him would be why?" Grenda said. "You could have just left her. She could have just left. She could've just come back home to her family. She could have come to me." Big picture view The murder trial wasn't the last for Lewis Joyner. In 1997, he was convicted in Fayette County on separate charges of possession of cocaine and marijuana, receiving 15 years per count. What's next As part of his parole conditions, Joyner must pay $30 per month to Georgia's crime victim compensation fund, complete a domestic violence course, and undergo substance abuse assessments and cover the costs. The Source FOX 5 covered the Joyner case extensively when it happened, and station archives were used extensively for this story. I-Team reporter Johnny Edwards also reviewed documents from the state Board of Pardons and Paroles and spoke with two of Lewis and Ruby Joyner's nieces about how the family is coping with this week's parole.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Georgia man convicted in 1996 wife's murder granted parole after nearly 30 years
The Brief Lewis Albert Joyner, convicted of murdering his wife Ruby Joyner in 1996, has been granted parole nearly 30 years after the high-profile case involving infidelity, financial strain, and drugs. Joyner was also convicted in 1997 for drug possession charges, receiving 15-year sentences for cocaine and marijuana; he had been eligible for parole since 2010 but was denied multiple times before a final grant this month. As part of his parole conditions, Joyner must pay to Georgia's crime victim compensation fund, complete a domestic violence course, and undergo substance abuse assessments. PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - A Georgia man convicted of killing his wife nearly 30 years ago in a case involving infidelity, financial strain and drugs has been granted parole, state officials confirmed. The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles approved the release of Lewis Albert Joyner, who was convicted in 1996 for the murder of his wife, Ruby Joyner, in Fulton County. He is scheduled to be released on parole May 15, nearly 30 years after the high-profile case unfolded. What we know Joyner was also convicted in 1997 in Fayette County on separate charges of possession of cocaine and marijuana, receiving 15-year sentences on each count. He had been eligible for parole since February 14, 2010, but was denied several times before receiving a tentative grant in May 2024. That decision became final this month. As part of his parole conditions, Joyner must: Pay $30 per month to Georgia's crime victim compensation fund, Complete a domestic violence course, and Undergo substance abuse assessments and cover associated costs. The backstory Lewis and Ruby Joyner had moved from New York to Peachtree City in 1994, where they built a successful moving and storage company. Ruby, originally from South Carolina, became friends with Halima Jones, a local educator. On November 15, 1995, Ruby and Halima went shopping together and were later reported missing. Six days later, Halima's minivan was discovered abandoned at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, with the bodies of both women inside. Halima had been shot in the head; Ruby had been strangled and beaten. Investigators found no weapon or forensic evidence at the scene. Authorities learned that Joyner had left for New York shortly after the women disappeared. A search of his property uncovered a large amount of cocaine, raising suspicions of drug trafficking. Investigators also discovered Joyner had been having an affair with Halima Jones. A breakthrough came when a friend of Joyner told police that Joyner confessed to the killings, claiming Ruby had shot Halima upon discovering the affair and that he killed Ruby in self-defense. But physical evidence at the scene, including Joyner's eyeglasses and spent shell casings, contradicted that account. Joyner was located in New York and arrested after a standoff with police. He was charged with murder, drug possession, and resisting arrest. During trial, prosecutors argued that Joyner's motive stemmed from financial troubles and his affair with Jones. They contended Joyner intended to kill Ruby, accidentally shot Halima first, and then chased and fatally beat Ruby. Joyner claimed he acted in self-defense. The jury convicted him of murdering his wife but acquitted him in the death of Halima Jones, citing insufficient evidence. He received a life sentence for Ruby Joyner's murder. What's next Joyner's parole follows decades of incarceration in a case that once captured headlines across Georgia. The Source The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles provided the details on Lewis Albert Joyner. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were also used.
