CANTON, Ga. (Court TV) — A Georgia woman is standing trial on charges she killed her husband and burned his remains on their property.
Melody Farris appears in court Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Court TV)
Melody Walker Farris is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and making a false statement in the death of her husband, Gary Farris, who was a prominent Atlanta-area attorney.
The couple, who were married for 38 years, lived on a working farm in Alpharetta that spanned approximately 10 acres. They lived in the main house together, while one of their four adult children lived in an apartment above the barn. On July 5, 2018, deputies with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office were called to the property for a report of human remains in a fire.
Detectives initially believed Gary could have suffered a medical issue and fallen into the fire, but quickly began investigating the case as a homicide after a bullet was found lodged in one of Gary’s rib bones. The bullet, a .38, did not match any weapon found during searches of the property.
Investigators say the Farris marriage was rocky, and Court TV reviewed documents showing that Gary filed for divorce in February 2010. The petition was dismissed that August.
Melody initially denied having any extramarital affairs when asked by investigators, and then later claimed her affair with Roy ‘Rusty’ Barton ended a year before her husband’s death. But investigators determined that was a lie, and later arrested her in Tullahoma, Tennessee, where she had been spending time with Barton.
Prosecutors say at the time of the murder, the couple had been arguing about finances, specifically Gary’s refusal to give Melody money but instead giving it to their adult children.
DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS
DAY 8 – 10/16/24
- Jurors hear testimony from Melody Farris’ paramour, Rusty Barton.
- Barton told investigators during an interview on July 24, 2018, that he spoke with Melody in the early morning hours of July 4, 2018, to which she told him that ‘Gary was in the burn pile.’ Barton said he and his attorney tried repeatedly to recant his statement because he felt he was under duress.
- During a July 8, 2019, jailhouse call, Melody Farris asked ‘Rusty’ Barton to please stop talking and that he [Rusty] ‘would singlehandedly hang me.’
- Rusty Barton drove Melody Farris to the police station in Tennessee so that she could turn herself into the police.
- Rusty Barton’s girlfriend in 2017 wrote an email to Gary Farris that he was having an affair with his wife.
- A Forensic Anthropologist said that the fire at the burn pile was ignited once with no liquid accelerants. The fire started 24 hours before his body being found.
- Sharon Cooper, a friend of Melody Farris, said that Melody went on a secret trip to Jamaica with ‘Rusty’ Barton. Melody Farris mailed her debit card to Cooper, who was beginning her move to Minnesota so that she could make a small purchase on her behalf. Gary Farris thought Melody was in Minnesota with Cooper.
DAY 7 – 10/15/24
- Jurors hear testimony from Melody Farris’ paramour, Ted Wiley. Wiley says he was unaware that anyone knew about their relationship until after the incident.
- Gary Farris kept a log whenever he had one of his “spells.” According to his legal Assistant, Angela Phillips, the doctors could never find anything wrong with Farris.
- Gary Farris’ legal assistant told the jury that she and Farris had a personal relationship.
- Gary Farris stopped responding to emails after 3:30 p.m. on July 4, 2018.
- Blood found on a t-shirt inside the Purcell Lane home was that of Melody Farris. Her defense attorney asked the DNA analyst if she knew that the T-shirt belonged to Farris and if she would expect to find Farris’ DNA on a shirt that belonged to her, to which she replied, “Yes.”
- The bullet found on the basement floor, and the projectile found embedded into one of Gary Farris’ ribs were fired from the same gun, but it’s unknown if the two items are the same brand of bullet.
DAY 6 – 10/14/24
- Melody Farris’ oldest daughter, Emily Farris Payne, testifies against her mother.
- GBI Forensic Pathologist Dr. Steven Atkinson says Gary Farris died as a result of a gunshot wound to the torso, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
- Melody Farris’ DNA was identified on the L2-Shifter on the Kubota tractor and one blue shoe inside the home.
- Melody Farris and her son, Scott Farris, had their hands swabbed for fire accelerants. Both tests were negative.
- Blue Star luminol revealed possible cleaning streaks near the top of the stairs leading to the home’s basement.
DAY 5 – 10/11/24
- Scott Farris, the second oldest son of Gary and Melody Farris, returns to the witness stand for a full day of testimony.
DAY 4 – 10/10/24
- Melody Farris’ second oldest child, Scott Farris, testifies against his mother regarding the death of her husband, Gary Farris.
- Melody Farris told family members about her son, Christopher Farris, stealing money and paying for various things.
- Gary Farris texted his son, Christopher Farris, stating, “Your stealing money is out of control. “ The text was sent a couple of weeks before his death.
- Scott Farris says his father told him to hold onto his [Gary Farris] credit “as if his life depended on it.”
- Jenna Pawlowski, Melody Farris’ former daughter-in-law, claims Melody showed her a revolver belonging to her grandfather. The gun was inside a cadenza drawer in the basement.
- The last photo on a deer camera near the burn pile was a picture of Melody’s son, Scott Farris. All other pictures had been deleted on the SD card inside the camera.
DAY 3 – 10/9/24
- Melody Farris sent a text message to her friend and neighbor, Terry Braswell, stating, “I hope he [Gary Farris] dies alone and a gruesome death.”
- Battalion Chief Ricky Collett, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Service, told jurors the dive team did not locate a gun in the pond on the Farris’ property.
- Christopher Farris, the couple’s oldest son, told jurors that there was no funeral for his father. His mother, Melody Farris, asks, “Why have a funeral when there’s nothing left?”
- Gary Farris was believed to be missing after he did not answer his cell phone on July 4, 2018.
- Scott Farris, the couple’s second oldest child, found his father’s remains in the burn pile.
- Gary Farris told his children in 2010 that their mother had gotten a home equity loan on their Alpharetta farm, which led to Gary Farris serving divorce papers to his wife. The couple never divorced and reconciled.
- In April 2018, Gary Farris told at least two of his children that he thought their mother was trying to poison him. Farris was rushed to the hospital after eating cookies his wife made for him after an argument.
- WATCH: Burn Pile Murder Trial: Day 3 Recap
DAY 2 – 10/8/24
- Police investigators arrived to find a smoldering burn pit containing the remains of Gary Farris. A projectile was located in a rib fragment.
- Crime scene investigators located what appeared to be reddish-brown stains on a Kubota tractor’s hydraulic pump, shift lever, and left footstep. Touch DNA swabs were collected from nine points on the tractor – the steering wheel, three-point hitch lever, power takeoff switch, hand throttle lever, loader control, directional shifter, support handle, the fender, and ignition key.
- A projectile was found between an ottoman and a rug on the floor in the recreational room.
- A red shirt with what appeared to be soot was found inside the Farris home.
- .38 caliber ammunition was found in a loft apartment above the barn.
- WATCH: Burn Pile Murder Trial: Day 2 Recap
DAY 1 – 10/7/24
- Prosecutor Geoffrey Fogus opened for the state by urging jurors to ‘shrink their worlds’ and find that the only person who had the means, motive and opportunity to kill Gary Farris was his wife, the defendant Melody Walker Farris.
- Fogus noted that Melody liked being married to a rich lawyer, they lived in a mansion worthy of being featured in Southern Living. The two lived in the same house but had separate living quarters. Melody lived upstairs and Gary lived downstairs, and they cheated on each other over the course of their marriage.
- There was constant tension in the relationship because Melody did not like the way Gary used his money. Gary spent lavishly to support his grown children who appeared to rely on his generosity.
- Fogus said Gary was shot and killed, his body placed on a burn pile, for his son Scott to find. The prosecutor states that this did not occur because of a break-in, or robbery, the only person in the house at the time was Melody.
- Defense Attorney Michael Ray opened by suggesting to jurors that too many still unanswered questions should prevent them from finding client guilty of murder. Ray notes police don’t know where Gary was shot in the house, how Melody could have moved her husband (6’3 and over 300 lbs.) onto the burn pile and no murder weapon was recovered from the property.
- Ray notes that Scott is the only one who possesses .38 caliber ammunition– the same kind of ammunition that investigators say killed Gary.
