He Filed for Divorce and a Protection Order. Still, His Wife Killed Him Two Days Before Christmas.
Then, the judge threw the book at her.
Recently, Fayette County Superior Court Judge Rhonda Kreuziger sentenced Alexandria Ginavia Mardell to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the stabbing death of her husband, John Mardell, 47. The 35-year-old Georgia native was found guilty and convicted by a jury of felony murder, malice murder, and aggravated assault.
On Dec. 23, 2019, officers responded to the couple’s home along Jordan Place in Bailey Oaks subdivision, where John Mardell was found with multiple stab wounds. According to investigators, the victim was stabbed 22 times by the defendant, and then she struck him in the head with a glass jar.
“John Mardell’s death was horrific. His major organs were damaged, and he floundered on the ground, dying,” said Senior Assistant District Attorney Dan Hiatt,” according to FOX 5.
After the violent altercation, Mardell packed her bags and fled the scene with her husband’s car. She was arrested some hours later. During the trial, the defendant told the court she killed her husband in self-defense, but submitted no evidence to corroborate her claim.
Prosecutors believed Mardell’s motive was due to her husband filing for divorce a month previously and a protection order the same day of his demise.
“John Mardell’s death was avoidable, senseless and horribly violent. My deepest thanks goes to the investigators with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and to my team for working so hard to bring justice to John,” said Hiatt during the sentencing hearing, according to The Citizen.
