Ex-Partner Charged In Bakery Owner's Murder

MARIETTA, GA — The former business partner and roommate of a bakery owner from Marietta has been arrested and indicted by a grand jury on charges that he masterminded his ex-partner's murder.

Ross Byrne, 54, was arrested at the bakery on Thursday, the same day a grand jury indicted him on charges including malice murder and conspiracy in the 2014 stabbing death of Jerry L. Moore. Last week, Johnathan Wheeler, 35, was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing Moore 32 time, killing him, at his Marietta home.

Moore, 46, was the co-owner of Best Dang Bakery Around, in Woodstock, where Wheeler briefly worked. According to prosecutors, the business wasn't doing well and he wanted out of the arrangement.

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Byrne has been described by prosecutors as a "business mentor" to Wheeler, who worked briefly at the bakery. Byrne moved out a few weeks before Moore was killed.

According to prosecutors, Moore was responsible for the bakery's finances while Byrne ran its day-to-day operations. The indictment accuses Byrne of conspiring with Wheeler to have Moore murdered.

Wheeler was found guilty on charges that included malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and first-degree burglary. Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences without parole.

Late on Jan. 25, 2014, Wheeler drove to Moore's home on Gracewood Drive, near Sandy Springs, and used a key to get inside. Moore's 32 stab wounds included multiple stabs to the back. When he left the scene, Wheeler drove to Byrne's new home, prosecutors said.

Soon afterward, Wheeler confessed the murder to his cousin, with whom he was having a sexual relationship. The next day, the two went back to Moore's home to clean up and steal some items. She was convicted of burglary and tampering and testified as a witness at Wheeler's trial.

Ross Byrne photo courtesy Cobb County Sheriff's Office. Jerry Moore photo courtesy Cobb County District Attorney's office.