Man convicted of murdering Coweta County woman in 1991, sentenced to life in prison
A jury convicted Kevin James Lee of murder in connection to the disappearance and murder of Ann Margaret Berry in 1991. Lee was then sentenced to life in prison. (Coweta County District Attorney’s Office)
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A jury found a man guilty of murdering a Coweta County woman over 30 years ago, the district attorney's office announced Saturday.
Kevin James Lee was convicted of murdering and then hiding the body of Ann Margret Berry in 1991. Berry was reported missing by her sister and investigators recovered her remains 20 years later in 2011.
Lee was indicted for the murder of Berry the following year in 2012. He was then arrested in 2018 in California. He was extradited back to Georgia in early 2019 for a trial.
Officials noted that Lee and Berry were in a relationship and Berry was expecting her third child. However, family and friends said that the couple’s relationship was "tumultuous."
In the spring of 1991, the victim discovered she was pregnant with her third child and seemed very excited about it. However, friends and family described the victim and defendant’s relationship as tumultuous," according to a news release from the Coweta County District Attorney's Office.
Family members also said they would sometimes notice bruises and other marks on Berry's body and face.
According to Berry's sister, she had intentions on separating from Lee and moving out of their home. "On July 4, 1991, the victim contacted her sister and asked if she and her children could move in to the sister’s home because the victim could no longer take the abuse from the defendant," officials said. Berry never made it to her sister's home and was never seen alive again.
Berry's sister later contacted Lee, but he gave several accounts regarding Berry's disappearance.
Originally Lee claimed Berry ran off with her boyfriend and left the children. Later he stated Berry "left with a white guy in a van" and in another story he noted she left "with a black guy in a truck."
Authorities confirmed Lee never filed a missing persons report.
Following the jury's guilty verdict, a judge sentenced Lee to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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