Wife Kills Husband After Fight Over ‘Open Marriage’

A Georgia woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars after being sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2021 shooting death of her husband — a killing she first called an accident before changing her story multiple times.

On Monday, Aug. 18, Cheryl Howell Coe was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault in connection with the June 23, 2021, death of her husband, 54-year-old Luther Coe, at their Newnan, Georgia home, according to The Newnan Times-Herald and Fox 5 Atlanta.

Cheryl, who was 51 at the time of the shooting, initially told investigators she mistook Luther for an intruder after waking up to someone barging into their bedroom. She claimed she fired two shots in self-defense before realizing it was her husband.

But police quickly became suspicious after finding inconsistencies in her statements and physical evidence showing that Luther was shot at point-blank range. During her trial, a medical examiner testified that the gun was fired from just inches away.

As the investigation unfolded, more details about the couple’s marriage came to light. According to testimony, Cheryl and Luther had been in an open marriage since 2020, engaging in sexual encounters with friends. Prosecutors said the pair had been arguing about boundaries within their relationship on the night of the shooting.

Body camera footage from responding officers captured Cheryl calling her mother at the scene, claiming she “was just trying to protect herself.” Later, she told investigators that Luther had entered the bedroom angrily, allegedly yanking a pillow from between her legs and demanding she get out of bed. Cheryl claimed she fired the gun intending to scare him, not hit him, insisting, “I was scared.”

However, prosecutors argued Cheryl’s version of events shifted repeatedly, undermining her credibility. Senior Assistant District Attorney Laura Lukert called her “the most unreliable of narrators,” telling jurors, “The only consistency we have is that this woman shot Luther Coe.”

After less than a day of deliberations, the jury convicted Cheryl on all counts, and she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.