COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County District Attorney is calling a case of spousal neglect one of the worst she has ever encountered, after a husband was sentenced to life in prison for the death of his wife.
Gary Williams was sentenced after his wife, Adrienne Gordon, died from years of neglect. Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michelle Newell reported that the investigation began at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where the victim was taken in 2021.
Adrienne Gordon lived in a beautiful home with her husband of nearly 30 years, but journal entries in her own words revealed their relationship: “July 21st, 2017, Gary woke up yelling. He told me I was the germ in his life.”
Years later, investigators would discover a bedroom of torture that led to Gordon’s death.
“It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen,” Cobb County DA Sonya Allen said.
Pictures of Gordon’s condition upon arrival at the hospital were so horrific that Newell said she had to look away when Allen showed them to her.
The 66-year-old victim, who was paralyzed on one side, suffered for years.
“She was left in her own feces, her own urine,” Allen said. “Her toenails were grown out. There was one point where she fell from the bed onto the floor and she just laid there for three days in her own feces and urine.”
Williams reportedly masked the neglect from family and friends, telling police his wife did not want people to see her that way and that he was obeying her wishes of not having people come in and help.
However, prosecutors successfully argued that Williams’ actions constituted a severe lack of care and disregard for his wife’s life.
Williams was able to mask the situation from family and friends until things went too far.
In 2021, Gordon was covered in bed sores and lesions when she was admitted to the hospital.
Williams appeared unfazed as he spoke with police.
“He just spoke of it as if he was lovingly taking care of her,” Allen said.
Gordon ultimately died of sepsis.
‘You have a man who’s married to his wife for 30 years, beautiful wife, beautiful family, and he just let her waste away," Allen said.
The DA and her team who worked hard on this case say it’s so important for people to pay attention to their elderly loved ones. If you sense something is off, get help.
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