MACON, Ga. — Family and friends of Joyce Judie are reeling after her husband, Edward Judie, pleaded guilty Wednesday to concealing her death on Thanksgiving night in 2019.
The plea Wednesday means the former deputy superintendent in the Bibb County school system avoided serving any time in prison since his sentence was only 10 years probation.
Originally, he was charged with distribution of cocaine and murder — which could carry up to life in prison or even the death penalty — but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge after prosecutors admitted they couldn't prove the charges in the original indictment.
“It's just horrible that someone can take the life of someone that was such a wonderful person," family friend Ernestine Smith said.
The family of Joyce Judie was sitting on the right side of the courtroom on the prosecutor's side. Members of her family cried in the gallery as prosecutors recommended Ed Judie serve 10 years of probation. In front of them sat Macon District Attorney Anita Howard.
Many of Joyce Judie’s loved ones felt that her husband deserved to serve some jail time and were disappointed in the outcome Wednesday afternoon.
"He should go to prison for at least a few years because he was negligent in his care for her,” Judie said.
In court, a statement read on behalf of the family maintained that they believed Edward Judie was responsible for Joyce’s death.
“Our mother was murdered by our stepfather,” they said in court.
But according to the prosecutors, they say the evidence they used to indict Judie had changed as they got closer to trial, including conflicting statements about who was at the house on the night Joyce Judie was killed.
It was also believed that Joyce Judie suffered from dementia, but the evidence was not there to prove it in court.
They also weren’t sure whether or not the cocaine was taken voluntarily, and Judie’s attorney Gregory Bushway argued there are conflicting reports about whether Joyce Judie died from a cocaine overdose in the first place.
Regardless, for the family and friends of Joyce Judie, the pain of the outcome is still felt strongly.
"It's like it didn't even happen like she didn't even matter,” Smith said.
In the family’s statement in court, they made their opinion on the outcome quite clear: they think justice was not served in their mother’s death.
“Murderers and criminals are supposed to be brought to justice… What does that mean for Joyce Judie?” they said. “Where’s the justice for my mother's slaying?”
After the plea, the judge presiding over the case, Senior Bibb Superior Court Judge Howard Simms, admitted to the elephant in the room: the emotions felt on the side of the victim's family.
“I wish there was a magic word I could say to make everybody feel better, but I can’t,” Simms said.
In court, prosecutor Michael Parrish recognized this was not the news Joyce Judie’s family was hoping for, but he said they had to follow the evidence — and the law.
"We understand that emotions are understandably running high. They [the family] disagree with our legal analysis of the case," Parrish said. "The evidence we have does not support the charges."
In a phone call with 13WMAZ, Joyce Judie’s daughter Ebonie Toye questioned why the DA’s office didn’t take the case to trial and tried to give her family their day in court.
"I would like to know why the DAs did not use the evidence that they had or present evidence that they had — or have the confidence in themselves and in this system that they work for,” Toye said.
Judie’s attorney, Bushway, says Edward Judie is still suffering from the loss of his wife. But with the decision on Wednesday, he said Judie now has the opportunity to pick up the pieces.
“Mr. Judie lost his wife of 24 years,” he said. “Mr. Judie still prays for Ms. Judie.”
He added: "This is not how Mr. and Ms. Judie imaged spending their golden years."
Reporting contributed by Kamiliah Williams