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John Christopher Ralph, 53, in Circuit Court Thursday was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder of his mother, Edith Betty Ralph, 78. Mrs. Ralph’s body was found April 6, 2019, at her home on Reynolds Road, which she shared with her son. Mrs. Ralph had been shot several times and had suffered a severe blow to the head.
Ralph was arrested at Atlanta’s Hartsville-Jackson International Airport just before he was set to board a plane to Amsterdam after the shooting, police said.
Ralph was originally charged with first-degree murder. The charge was amended to second-degree murder in a plea deal.
According to the evidence, Ralph had made numerous statements to friends and family that his mother was driving him crazy.
Ralph appeared before Circuit Court Judge Stacy Street.
HARDIN RECEIVES PROBATION
John-Claude Eric Hardin, a former Carter County teacher, accused of stealing money from a Unaka High School program, pleaded guilty Thursday in Carter County Circuit Court to amended charges. Hardin pleaded guilty under judicial diversion to theft under $1,000 and attempted forgery and was sentenced to nearly a year of probation.
Hardin was indicted on July 8, 2019 with theft of property over $1,000, official misconduct and six counts of forgery. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office which accused Hardin of stealing money from Unaka High School’s meat processing program.
Hardin was ordered by Judge Stacy Street to make restitution in the amount of $1,865 which was to be paid in full Thursday.
Five of the forgery charges against Hardin were dismissed and one was amended to attempted forgery. He was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days probation
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In other cases to come before Judge Street Thursday, Angela Diane Hudson-Adams was sentenced to 10 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping. Hudson-Adams also entered an Alford plea to two charges of theft of property over $1,000, three counts of identity theft, and five counts of forgery. She was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to make restitution on those charges.
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Judge Street Wednesday sentenced Billy Joseph Taylor to six years in prison for aggravated burglary and one year for theft of property valued at more than $1,000. He was also sentenced to six years on a drug charge and six years on a charge of possession of a weapon as a convicted drug felon to be served consecutive with the first six-year sentence.