A Fayette County woman was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole after being convicted of her husband’s murder.

Alexandria Ginavia Mardell, 35, stabbed her husband 22 times and smashed a jar over his head in their home in December 2019, according to investigators. John Mardell, 47, died from his injuries.

On Friday, the woman was convicted of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault, according to Marie Broder, the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney.

Mardell was convicted of killing her husband on Dec. 23, 2019. After stabbing him at least 22 times and striking him in the head with a glass jar, Alexandria Mardell packed a bag and left the house in her husband’s car, according to prosecutors.

Fayette court records show John Mardell had filed for a temporary protective order from his wife the same day. Earlier that month, he had filed for divorce.

Alexandria Mardell was arrested the afternoon of the assault and has been held at the Fayette jail. During her trial, she claimed self-defense but the jury rejected that argument.

“John Mardell’s death was horrific,” prosecutor Dan Hiatt said in a news release. “His major organs were damaged, and he floundered on the ground … dying.”

After the conviction, Judge Rhonda Kreuziger sentenced Mardell to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman