Fulton County, GA: Man gets life for killing girlfriend over food stamps, beer

By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

12:45 a.m. Friday, April 16, 2010
A 44-year-old man was convicted Thursday afternoon of killing his girlfriend by removing her tracheal tube.

Paul Brown was sentenced to life in prison for the beating and asphyxiation of 47-year-old Carlene Jones on Oct. 8, 2008, according to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

Brown and Jones had apparently been fighting over food stamps and beer money the day before her body was found, Yvette Brown with the DA's office said. Paul Brown apparently hit Jones in the face with a closed fist and then tore her tracheal tube from her neck, Yvette Brown said.

Jones required the tracheal tube to assist with breathing following a 1995 car accident, Yvette Brown said. Paul Brown apparently forced Jones into a car and left the tracheal tube on the front seat on Thurmond Street, according to testimony.

One witness reported seeing the defendant slap and punch Jones and threaten her with a beer bottle, according to the DA's office. Another witness saw the defendant force the woman into a car and drive off.

Following the woman's death, Paul Brown told a friend he pulled the tracheal tube out of Jones' neck during the assault. Brown lied to police about the assault and denied any involvement, the DA's office said.