FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Cody Palmer was found unresponsive and breathless in his family's RV back in February 2022 in the Fort Valley Buc-ee's parking lot.
While his family said the father, Christopher Palmer, dropped the 9-month-old child while giving him a bath, the investigators said at the time that things just didn't add up.
"There were injuries that were consistent with abuse. It was not consistent with a child that may have been crawling around at 9 months, crawling on a cabinet or falling off something," former Police Chief John Wagner said at the time.
Cody's father, Christopher Palmer, was convicted on Monday in his son's death.
They found that Palmer didn't drop his son — he beat him.
The jury issued their verdict: guilty on all counts, including murder.
"This involved the beating and ultimate unfortunate and tragic death of a 9-month-old baby," prosecutor Neil Halvorson said.
Macon District Attorney Anita Howard's district includes the Peach County mega-gas station. She says that the prosecution of this case was helped in large part by witnesses taking the stand.
"Witness cooperation is one of the greatest reasons for success in cases," she said.
As a rest stop, Buc-ee's sees people come in and out on their journeys across America.
Despite that, Howard and Halverson said that witnesses actively helped their office get a conviction in Cody Palmer's death.
"We need the cooperation of the community in order to achieve justice in these cases and justice for our victims," Howard said. "We need the community in order to be able to give a measure of justice to families who have been impacted and affected by crime — and we had it."
Three years after his death, Halvorson said witnesses came back to Peach County from across the country, including Kentucky, North Carolina and Missouri.
Howard said people stepped up to tell their story, and in doing so, they told Cody's story as well.
"Everybody wanted to help to obtain a measure of justice and to give Cody a voice, and Cody will forever be remembered," Howard said.
In court, prosecutors made their case: Christopher Palmer beat his son to death, a 9-month-old baby taken from the world by the person who brought him into it.
"There are consequences if you lay hands on a child," Halvorson said. "There should never be a situation where there is abuse towards a child, and obviously, we just want to make sure the message is, if there's abuse — there's consequences."
Palmer was sentenced by Judge Connie Williford to life in prison without the possibility of parole, trading his RV for a prison cell where he'll live out the rest of his days.
"I'm thankful that those witnesses came forward," Howard said.