Union City Man Found Guilty In Ex-Wife's Murder

­ATLANTA, Ga. - A Fulton County jury has found a Union County man guilty on three counts for his role in the murder of his estranged wife.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. said that William Sankey, 55, faces sentencing next week after being found guilty of murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in the murder of Rhonda Williams, his 42-year-old ex-wife, in front of the couple’s five-year-old child.

The couple had been married for four years prior to their divorce in 2014. A decree signed by a Fulton County judge, however, allowed Sankey to remain in the home with his ex-wife and their five-year-old daughter.

On April 28, 2015, Sankey discovered that his ex-wife had begun dating another man and angrily confronted her upon her return home from work with a pistol.

Sankey shot Williams four times in front of the couple’s daughter. The victim’s brother, who also lived at the home, heard the initial gunshots and found Sankey near Williams’s body.

“I had to do it,” Sankey told the victim’s brother as he pointed his weapon towards the back of Williams’s head and fired the final shot.

Following the shooting, Sankey called various family members to confess the murder and asked them to come to his home.

He refused, however, to allow family members to call the police. Union City police were not notified of the death until after the defendant had fled the scene four hours later.

Detectives learned of the couple’s volatile relationship and that they had argued over who would keep the house once they separated.

Family members told police that Sankey had been having a hard time accepting the divorce. He evaded authorities for hours that evening before eventually turning himself in.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua presided over the case, while Assistant District Attorney Will Arnold prosecuted with assistance from Deputy District Attorney Pat Dutcher and DA Investigator Michael Green.

Detective Gloria Hodgson of the Union City Police Department led the initial investigation.

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