Joshua FowlerA Walker County man who was arrested last year on a charge of beating his grandmother to death pleaded guilty this morning.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joshua Michael Fowler last March after police found his 75-year-old grandmother, Joyce Ann Fowler, lying on her bed, beaten to death.
At the time of the arrest, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said that neighbors spotted Joshua Fowler leaving his grandmother’s Chickamauga house March 29 at 9 a.m., around when a crime scene specialist believe Joyce Fowler died. They also found blood stains on the seats, console and steering wheel of Joshua Fowler’s car.
This morning, he pleaded guilty to felony murder and aggravated assault. The conviction carries a sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years. He had also faced a charge of malice murder, which would have put him in prison for life without the possibility of parole.
Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin declined to comment on the plea deal.
This is a developing story. For more, please see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.
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