2 Plead Guilty In Beating Death Of 74-Year-Old Man

CARTERSVILLE, GA — Two defendants have entered guilty pleas to charges related to the beating death of a 74-year-old man inside his Bartow County home. Rachel Savannah Ridley and Keisha Rena Cone both entered negotiated pleas last week in Bartow County Superior Court in connection to the Aug. 27, 2017, homicide of James Edward Stephens.

Cone, 21, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery, aggravated assault and burglary in the first degree charges, according to jail records. She received a 40-year sentence, 15 years of which she will have to serve in prison. She is also required to pay a $5,000 fine, undergo a clinical substance abuse evaluation and treatment and have no contact with Stephens' family.

Ridley, 20, entered guilty pleas to the charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and first degree burglary. She also received a 40-year sentence, but will serve 10 years in custody. She will also pay the $5,000 fine, undergo substance abuse treatment and refrain from having any contact with the family. The plea agreements were made formal July 31 in front of Bartow County Superior Court Judge David Smith.

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Stephens was found deceased Aug. 24 when Bartow County sheriff's deputies and investigators responded to a call of a death at a home on Country Lane, which is located off Ga. 20 east of Interstate 75. They found Stephens' body inside the home, and were able to determine he had been dead "for some time," the agency previously said.

Working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the sheriff's office and the Bartow County Coroner's Office determined Stephens suffered blunt force trauma that led to his death. Ridley and Cone were arrested in mid-September and were initially charged by the sheriff's office with murder and armed robbery.

A third defendant in the case, Tevin Ray Harris, pleaded guilty in June to felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and first degree burglary charges. As part of the negotiated plea, Harris received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Photo: Keisha Rena Cone, left, and Rachel Savannah Ridley