THOMASVILLE — A Thomas County Superior Court jury deliberated two hours before delivering a guilty murder verdict Wednesday in the December 2014 death of a Thomasville woman found dead on a footpath three days after Christmas.

Sidney Jerome McKinney Jr., 35, was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in the death of 29-year-old Deborah Thigpen, who lived at 216 Forsyth St. at the time of her death.

At one minute after noon on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014, Thomasville police responded to 1021 N. Stevens St., where they found Thigpen’s body.

McKinney was arrested about 11 p.m. the same day at the Myrtle Drive residence he shared with his parents.

McKinney and Thigpen had a long history of violence.

“They were off and on in a volatile relationship,” Thomasville police Capt. Maurice Holmes, who was among officers investigating the case, said Thursday.

Thigpen was strangled and suffered blunt-force trauma to the head.

Dr. Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft, medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Central Regional Crime Lab, determined the cause of death to be asphyxia in conjunction with blunt-force injuries to the head.

Gaffney-Kraft testified during the two-day trial that Thigpen had injuries to the right side of her neck caused by a ligature-type object, while injuries to the left side of her neck were consistent with manual strangulation. Multiple injuries to her head, hemorrhaging in her eyes and swelling in her brain were noted by Gaffney-Kraft as injuries consistent with blunt-force injury, testifying that either asphyxia by strangulation or blunt force injuries to the head could have caused the victim’s death.

Gaffney-Kraft testified that because of the amount of swelling present at autopsy, the assault on Thigpen was prolonged, lasting a minimum of five minutes.

Testimony linking McKinney to the crime was given by forensics experts from the GBI crime Lab.

Latisha West, a DNA analyst from the Southwest Regional Lab, matched McKinney’s DNA from genetic material extracted from the victim’s left-hand fingernails.

A profile of another male was developed from material extracted from the victim’s right fingernails, matching an individual named Kentrell Knighton from Albany.

Jim Prine, Thomasville-based assistant senior district attorney and prosecutor in the case, said Investigators attempted to locate Knighton during the investigation, but learned he had been shot and killed on Dec. 6, 2014, three weeks before Thigpen’s death.

Anne Kisler-Rao, a forensic fiber identification expert, linked a fiber found on the victim’s clothing to a sweatshirt McKinney was seen wearing on the night of Thigpen’s murder, after the clothing he was wearing on the night of the murder was collected from the dryer of his mother’s house.

Numerous witnesses who were family and close friends of Thigpen testified she feared for her life, and if she ended up dead, McKinney killed her.

Daisy Samuel, Thigpen’s aunt, testified that her niece was terrified of McKinney, with whom Thigpen had previously been in a relationship. When Thigpen terminated the relationship in early 2014, McKinney stalked and followed her, eventually escalating into physical assaults culminating with McKinney being charged on March 1, 2014, with raping Thigpen. The charge was no-billed by a grand jury, and McKinney was released from jail four months before the murder, Prine said.

On Sept. 17, 2014, McKinney was charged with battery on Thigpen, to which he entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 12 months probation and ordered to have no contact with Thigpen.

During McKinney’s interview in the murder investigation, GBI Special Agent Lindsay Marchant noted numerous injuries to his hands, including lacerations and a bite mark. Witnesses said Thigpen received a box cutter from her fiancé as protection from McKinney.

McKinney initially denied being in the Stevens Street area on the night of Thigpen’s murder, but video surveillance from several locations on Carroll Hill showed McKinney in the area when Thigpen was last seen alive.

Testimony also was given by a victim who had been assaulted by McKinney in a similar manner in Grady County in 1999. Like Thigpen, the victim had terminated the relationship with McKinney. The victim agreed to walk with McKinney to talk about their status, and as they got to a remote wooded area, McKinney grabbed the woman by the throat, dragged her into the woods, threw her on the ground, choking her and attempting to rape her.

After the victim told McKinney she would get back together with him, he loosened his grip on her. She escaped and called for help.

McKinney entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault with intent to rape in Grady County Superior Court and received 10 years probation in March 2000.

With convictions on the three charges, McKinney faces a possible maximum penalty of life without parole, as the counts of felony murder and aggravated assault will merge with the count of malice murder at sentencing.

McKinney was represented by Luke Mitchell, a Quitman attorney, who represents clients when there is a conflict in the Thomas County public defender’s office.

Judge James E. Hardy, who presided at the trial, will sentence McKinney on April 21.

“Anytime we can get a murderer off the street, it’s a great accomplishment and very satisfying,” Holmes said. “A person like this is a big threat to society.”

Found guilty by a jury, McKinney most likely will spend the rest of his life in prison, Holmes added.

He stressed assistance to police from the GBI, district attorney’s office and Thomas County Sheriff’s Office in the case.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.