A former nurse in Georgia has been sentenced for killing his wife, who was also a nurse, in 2021.
Tiffani Jade Scarborough, 25, was found dead in her Dublin, Ga. home in June 2021, according to reporting from 13 WMAZ, WGXA, and The Courier Herald.
Her husband, Benjamin Lee Whitaker, 37, was convicted of her murder in March of this year. On Wednesday, April 28, he was sentenced to life without parole.
The investigation began on June 30, 2021, during a welfare check requested after two of Scarborough’s co-workers went to her home when she did not show up for work, per WGXA and The Courier Herald.
Scarborough had been fatally shot and was discovered inside the home, The Courier Herald and 13 WMAZ reported.
Following a manhunt, police located Whitaker in the woods in a nearby county on July 1, 2021, according to 13 WMAZ. The couple had married less than two months before her death, the outlet reported.
In court, a video of Whitaker’s police questioning was shown in which he told officers he shot Scarborough because she had been “chastising” him for a “couple of drinks,” the Morgan County Citizen and The Courier Herald reported.
“I guess that constant nagging feeling set me off,” he told police, as shown during trial, the Morgan County Citizen reported.
In an online obituary, Scarborough is remembered for being passionate about women’s health and being “smitten” with her son. Her family has established a Facebook page in her honor to raise awareness about women’s health and domestic violence, while fundraising for organizations dedicated to these causes.
Whitaker was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, and two counts of aggravated assault, per WGXA, 13 WMAZ, and The Courier Herald.
At Whitaker’s sentencing, Scarborough’s mother, Julie Scarborough, described her daughter as an honest person who was “true to herself.”
“Time for us is marked by the time before and the time after Tiffani’s murder,” Julie said. “The people we were before that day are forever gone.”
SOURCES: 13 WMAZ | WGXA | The Courier Herald | Morgan County Citizen
