Four defendants were found guilty of murder, attempt to commit armed robbery and aggravated assault after a six-day jury trial in Walker County.
The defendants, Marcus Allen Chambers, James Logan Darty, Kayla Michelle McClure and Brayden Niri Whatley, were sentenced Dec. 19 to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The case stemmed from the death of Dakota Bottomlee in Chickamauga. The Walker County’s Sheriff’s Office found Bottomlee dead from gunshot wounds Oct. 31, 2024, according to a press release by the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation deduced a struggle had occurred from the evidence that included a broken coffee table. Shell casings from two separate firearms were also found at the scene.
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In the investigation, law enforcement received a tip that McClure had been bragging about her involvement in the shooting. Eventually, the other three defendants were also linked, law enforcement finding evidence of involvement on the defendants’ social media accounts and chats through a search warrant, according to the same press release.