By Roberto Bustamante
Apr 18, 2024, 1:38 PM EDT
A Georgia man accused of murdering his wife in 2017 and who has evaded capture for nearly two years is now in custody.
The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office released a photo of the arrest of Jonathan Bates on his Facebook page. The subject failed to appear in court in October 2022 in connection with the death of his 28-year-old wife.
Bates is accused of killing his partner, Cynthia “Cynde” Bates, on May 5, 2017, at the home where they lived in Paulding County. Investigators say her two children, who were 7 and 4 at the time, witnessed it all.
According to local Atlanta television station WSB-TV, the couple got into an argument that, Bates told police, ended when He pushed his wife away from him, causing her to hit her head on a couch.
After witnessing this event, the two minors ran to a neighbor’s house and reported what they saw, according to local channel Fox 5.
Cynde died in the hospital the next day after Bates told police he began having trouble breathing., according to The Associated Press. An autopsy revealed that the woman died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head.
Bates was charged with murder, assault and two counts of cruelty to children, but Paulding County Chief Judge Tony Beavers later dismissed all charges except the assault charge.
The unexpected decision angered Cynde’s family and led to an online petition calling for Beavers’ removal from the court, which gathered more than 11,600 signatures at the time.
A grand jury later indicted Bates for murder, but he failed to appear and as of 2022 remained a fugitive.
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