It’s been more than 30 years since Ann Margaret Berry vanished without a trace in a rural Coweta County community.
A jury this week convicted Berry’s common-law husband, 56-year-old Kevin James Lee, of killing the woman and burying her body in a shallow grave near their home to conceal her death.
Superior Court Judge Travis Sakrison sentenced Lee to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Officials from the district attorney’s office said that was the only sentence the judge could legally hand down when the crime was committed, according to the release.
“After more than 30 years, Ann Margaret Berry’s killer was brought to justice,” Coweta County District Attorney Herb Cranford said in a news release.
He credited Lee’s conviction to Berry’s sister, who reported her missing multiple times and never stopped trying to find her.
“Without her, this case would not have resulted in a guilty verdict,” Cranford said.
It’s a saga that began in the summer of 1991 when Berry’s sister reported her missing. It took almost 20 years before two boys camping in the woods unearthed Berry’s remains in a shallow hole less than 100 yards from the couple’s former home.
Lee was indicted for her murder in 2012, and U.S. marshals tracked him down and finally arrested him in Richmond, California, in 2018. He was extradited back to Coweta County in early 2019 to face his charges.
Prosecutors presented evidence gathered over the course of more than 30 years during the trial. Lee and Berry lived together with their two young children along Glover Road in Newnan. The 29-year-old woman was pregnant with their third child when she went missing.
A year before her disappearance, Lee was arrested and charged with battery against his wife, but the charge was dropped for an unknown reason, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Loved ones noticed signs of abuse before she suddenly vanished, according to Cranford.
“Friends and family described the victim and defendant’s relationship as tumultuous,” the release said. “They argued often and the defendant was known to push, slap and hit her. The victim’s family saw bruises and marks on the victim’s body and face, and saw holes in the walls of the home where the victim had been thrown into the walls.”
Officials said Berry called her sister July 4, 1991, and asked if she and her children could move into the sister’s home to escape the abuse. Berry called again July 31, 1991, and told her sister she was packing her and her kids’ belongings. She told her sister she’d be there in an hour. She never showed up.
Berry’s sister told authorities she heard Lee yelling and children crying in the background during the July 31 call. That was unusual, she said, because Berry typically called after their fights were over.
Berry was never heard from again.
Within a week, Lee took the children and moved to Kansas, prosecutors said. He told Berry’s family she’d run off with her boyfriend. But authorities said his stories about her leaving were inconsistent. They also found it peculiar he never filed a missing person report for his wife.
Coweta County detective John Lewis investigated the case after Berry’s remains were discovered. Prosecutors said he interviewed everyone who knew Berry and discovered the history of abuse as well as the inconsistencies in Lee’s story since she disappeared.
“This victim would not have received justice but for the relentless pursuit of justice by the victim’s sister and the dedication of Major Lewis over many years,” Cranford said.
Lee’s trial began Monday and jurors found him guilty of murder and concealing the death of another — following two days of testimony and about an hour of deliberations.
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