The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Camden County man sentenced for Attempted Murder and Aggravated Assault in 2013 can still be prosecuted for murder after the victim later died from her injuries.
The Court affirmed a lower court decision denying an attempt to dismiss the charges against Ronald Lange Buchalla on the basis of double jeopardy.
According to court documents, Buchalla attacked Jean Marie Morgan in April 2012 in Camden County, strangling her and striking her in the head with a pool cue. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder and Aggravated Assault (Family Violence). A judge ordered him to serve consecutive 15-year sentences on each count, for a total sentence of 30 years. 20 of the 30 years were to be served in prison followed by ten years on probation.
Morgan survived the attack, but died in 2015. Prosecutors contend her death resulted from the injuries she sustained during the assault. Nine years after Morgan passed away, in October 2024, a Camden County grand jury indicted Buchalla on charges of Malice Murder and Felony Murder.
Attorneys for Buchalla sought intervention by the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the indictment should be dismissed because Buchalla was convicted and sentenced for the assault. They argued that the prosecution for the same assault, on a murder charge, would violate protections against double jeopardy under both the United States and Georgia constitutions, as well as Georgia law.
Attorneys argued that Aggravated Assault was a ‘lesser included offense’ arising from the same conduct and, therefore, unconstitutional.
Georgia Supreme Court Weighs In
The Georgia Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, disagreed. The justices relied on an exception to double jeopardy protections when the greater offense – in this case murder – was not yet complete at the time of the earlier conviction.
The Court noted that murder requires proof that the victim died. Because Morgan was still alive when Buchalla pleaded guilty in 2013, the crime of murder had not yet been “consummated” and could not have been charged at that time.
The Court wrote that “when an aggravated assault victim dies from his injuries after the defendant was convicted of aggravated assault, the State may then prosecute the same defendant for murder.”
The justices also wrote that prosecutors could not have known of a murder charge in 2013 because Morgan was still alive and the crime had “not yet occurred.”
The ruling means the prosecution of Buchalla in Camden County can proceed.
