According to Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver, Larry Bodily, who was sentenced today by Circuit Judge Andrew Hairston for the brutal murder of his mother. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Mike O’Dell and was convicted by a Cherokee County Jury in November. The murder of Karen Willmon occurred in 2017 at a residence on County Road 65 near Centre. According to Chief Deputy Josh Summerford, who serves as the director of the Major Crimes Unit, Bodily was arrested on February 19th, 2017, and charged with the murder after a week-long investigation and discovering the victim’s body hidden inside the garage of the residence.
Bodily was sentenced by Judge Hairston to life without the possibility of parole, the maximum sentence for the crime of murder. “We are very pleased with the sentence handed down today by Judge Hairston,” said Sheriff Shaver. “The great work by our investigators and the experienced-based, aggressive prosecution by District Attorney Mike O’Dell led to justice being handed down by Judge Hairston this morning,” said Chief Deputy Summerford.
According to Sheriff Shaver, several agencies assisted Sheriff’s Office investigators in this case including sheriff’s offices in Etowah, Calhoun, Jefferson, Floyd and Polk Counties, the Cherokee County Coroner’s Office, ALEA Aviation Unit, the Cherokee County Major Crimes Unit and the JSU Center for Applied Forensics.
