A Morgan County jury returned a verdict of guilty after deliberating for less than 30 minutes following a trial that concluded on Jan. 10.
Charles Corbitt III, 28, had been charged with murdering Taylor Dickens of McDonough in the Pilot Travel Center parking lot on Eatonton Road in Madison on the evening of June 19, 2023.
Chief Judge Brenda H. Trammell sentenced Corbitt to life with the possibility of parole, plus five years on probation.
According to the Ocmulgee District Attorney’s office, Marren Dickens and Taylor Dickens met Corbitt at the Pilot Travel Center for a child custody swap, and a physical altercation broke out between Dickens and Corbitt.
“Corbitt then shot Dickens four times at point-blank range with a .357 Taurus revolver in the presence of multiple children,” the D.A.’s office said.
According to Assistant Chief Colin Campbell of the Madison Department, Marren Dickens left the Pilot station to take the victim to a hospital, but because she was not familiar with the area, instead stopped in front of the McDonald’s near the interstate.
Campbell said Madison police officers were nearby and arrived to aid the couple. An ambulance was guided to the scene and rushed Taylor Dickens to Morgan Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
An investigation was conducted, and Corbittwas charged with murder and aggravated assault the following morning.
The case was prosecuted by Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale and Senior Assistant District Attorney Jeff Burkes. The District Attorney’s Office thanked the Madison Police Department, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, and the GBI for their work on the case.