MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — A Milledgeville man was found guilty Wednesday on all counts and sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years for the 2017 shooting death of Rita Faye Henon.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated two hours and 40 minutes before rendering the guilty verdict for 37-year-old David Renfro.

Renfro shot Henon as she walked with her grandchildren in a Baldwin County convenience store parking lot on May 23, 2017.

Authorities charged Renfro with two counts of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Jurors could begin their deliberations on Wednesday. 

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges by reason of mental illness.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Senior Assistant District Attorney Dawn Baskin announced shortly after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday that the state was resting its case. 

About a half hour later, Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Chief Public Defender John Bradley announced that the defense was resting its case, too, after calling only one person to testify.

While the prosecution called several witnesses to testify on Tuesday, they ended their case Wednesday by calling three people to the stand before they rested the state’s testimony.

The last of the state’s witnesses was Dr. Valerie J. Ross, a forensic psychologist at East Central Hospital in Augusta.

Ross, who testified as an expert witness in her field, said she examined Renfro and talked with him after he was arrested by detectives with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. She also said she looked at numerous medical records from institutions where Renfro, who was on various medications, had been a patient.

During an interview with Ross after he was incarcerated on murder charges, she said Renfro told her that he heard voices telling him to stop the woman, believing in his mind that she was molesting a child she was seen walking with in the parking lot of the K&C Stop on the Sparta Highway in Baldwin County on May 23, 2017.

Henon had gone inside the store with her two grandchildren to purchase some lottery tickets. She was shot in the head by Renfro.

After the state rested its case, Bradley sought a direct verdict of acquittal for his client contending that the state had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bradley’s motion was quickly denied by Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Brenda H. Trammell.

The judge earlier asked Renfro a series of questions related to whether or not he planned to testify on his own behalf.

Trammell also informed Renfro that he could testify on his own behalf if he chose to and that if he chose not to testify, such a decision could not be held against him by jurors.

Each time Trammel asked him a question, Renfro responded in a soft voice, “Yes, your honor.”

Renfro opted not to testify.

When the defense presented its case, Bradley called only his client’s sister, Crystal Renfro, who told jurors that her brother had suffered from mental illness since he was 19 years old.

She cited several instances where her brother had experienced issues that required hospitalization over the years or she, along with other family members, had to go out in the middle of the night and look for him.