Bio 

Jonathen Jarrells was born in 1956. At the time of the offense, he was an adult man who had traveled from West Virginia to Georgia to visit his brother and his brother’s family. In August 1987, Jarrells was staying near the home of elderly sisters Gertie E. Elrod and Lorraine Elrod in Chattoogaville, Georgia. The Elrod sisters lived across the road from Jarrells’ brother. Before the attack, Lorraine Elrod had spoken with Jarrells when he came to the home with two children from his brother’s family to borrow water.

Murder Story

On August 24, 1987, Jonathen Jarrells entered the home of sisters Gertie E. Elrod and Lorraine Elrod in Chattoogaville, Georgia. According to court testimony, he asked to use the telephone. After being allowed inside, he armed himself with a pair of scissors and announced that he intended to rob the women.

Jarrells stabbed both sisters with the scissors. He then forced them into a bedroom, tied their hands and feet with electrical cords, and beat them with a clothing iron. After attacking them, he searched the house for valuables and left the scene.

The sisters were found the next morning by their nephew. Gertie Elrod was dead, and Lorraine Elrod was still alive but severely injured. A doctor later testified that Lorraine had been struck on the head at least a dozen times. She suffered broken teeth, a broken nose, multiple broken facial bones, and serious wounds to her face and head. She survived but permanently lost sight in one eye and hearing in one ear.

Gertie Elrod died from blunt force trauma to the head. She was 77 years old.

Jarrells left the area around the time the victims were discovered. Based on information from Lorraine Elrod and Jarrells’ sister-in-law, authorities located him in Hazard, Kentucky. He was arrested the same day or the following day, and officers recovered numerous items belonging to the Elrod sisters from his vehicle.

Jarrells was convicted by a Walker County jury of murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. On March 5, 1988, he was sentenced to death for the murder of Gertie Elrod. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and death sentence in 1989.

In May 1991, the case was returned to the trial court on the issue of mental retardation, now more commonly referred to as intellectual disability. His original death sentence was eventually set aside, and he remained in custody for many years without a final sentence.

On April 15, 2016, Jarrells was resentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Reports at the time stated that he had spent about 25 years in custody without a final sentence after the mental-competency issue was raised.