Woman shot husband dead after he wanted to add new rules to their open marriage

A 55-year-old Georgia pistillate volition walk the remainder of her beingness down bars for the slaying of her hubby aft she changeable him to decease pursuing a disagreement astir her seeing different men successful their unfastened marriage.

Cheryl Coe was convicted Monday of murder and aggravated battle successful the decease of 48-year-old Luther "Luke" Coe III successful Coweta County. She was sentenced to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole, according to a courtroom study from the Newnan Times-Herald.

The Coweta County Sheriff's Office responded around 7:30 p.m. connected June 23, 2021, to the Coe location connected Tommy Lee Cook Road successful Newnan aft the suspect called 911 to study she changeable her hubby erstwhile she mistook him for an intruder.

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Coe allegedly told cops that anterior to the shooting, she had consumed 4 oregon 5 Angry Orchard Hard Cider drinks connected the structure arsenic her hubby worked successful his detached garage. She reportedly said she decided to spell to furniture astir 7:15 p.m. but was awoken astir 10 minutes aboriginal erstwhile the chamber doorway swung open.

Thinking it was an intruder, she opened fire.

"I was conscionable trying to support myself," she reportedly told investigators astatine the time.

She claimed she didn't recognize she changeable her hubby until helium reportedly said "Cheryl, you changeable me."

But her communicative fell isolated astir immediately, arsenic investigators determined that her hubby had suffered a interaction slug coiled — meaning that the weapon was fired arsenic it was being held to the victim's body, and not from a region arsenic Coe primitively claimed.

Coe past claimed she changeable her hubby successful self-defense. She reportedly said helium came storming into the country and tried dragging her retired of bed. She said helium near the room, truthful she took the accidental to drawback a weapon from the nightstand. The now-convicted murderer fired 1 informing changeable — which she said made the unfortunate aggravated — earlier pulling the trigger a 2nd time.

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"I was conscionable trying to deed the partition down the TV truthful it would scare him disconnected oregon marque him leave," she reportedly said. "I wasn't trying to deed him."

But she did. After Coe helped paramedics render assistance to her husband, helium aboriginal died astatine a hospital.

Investigators past discovered simmering issues wrong the marriage. A bid of substance messages successful the days starring up to the shooting reportedly showed the mates warring astir their unfastened marriage.

Cheryl Coe asked her hubby for support to spot different antheral aboriginal that week. He past reportedly asked if she was besides readying connected seeing a 2nd antheral that aforesaid time to which she responded "lol." The unfortunate reportedly said her effect "turned his stomach."

She suggested they extremity their unfastened matrimony due to the fact that it was causing issues, but helium reportedly wanted to support it going with much crushed rules. Luther Coe reportedly became adjacent much upset erstwhile helium learned that his woman was talking astir their issues with a friend.

The suspect reiterated her self-defense assertion erstwhile she took the basal astatine her trial. She reportedly told jurors helium was "more enraged that he's ever been astatine me."

Asked wherefore she initially told cops the shooting was an accident, she reportedly claimed it was due to the fact that she did not privation to tarnish her husband's reputation.

Prosecutors during closing arguments pointed retired her conflicting narratives.

"She brought a weapon to a verbal spat," authoritative Laura Lukert reportedly said.

According to his obituary, Luther Coe served successful the U.S. Army and owned a demolition and roadworthy grading company.