Man convicted in 2020 double murder

TOOMBS COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A Toombs County jury has convicted an Alabama man in the 2020 murders of two Vidalia women.

Prosecutors say you rarely see a case like this, from two murder victims, their relationship to the accused, and the geography the accused traveled to try and get away.

“It almost never happens, maybe one case out of a thousand,” District Attorney Tripp Fitzner said.

The murder of Latorey Harden and her mother Pam back in 2020 shocked many in Vidalia.

Both shot and killed at the daughter’s home. Within days, federal marshals caught Joshua Sanders on his way to California after they say he stole Pam’s SUV and ditched it in Alabama.

A Toombs County jury found Joshua Sanders guilty on 15 charges in the case.

District Attorney Tripp Fitzner says they presented Sanders video confession to GBI agents, security video of the shooting, and eyewitness accounts to convince a jury to convict.

There were people who saw the altercation, and it was traumatic experience for them as well. He says Sanders had met Latorey on social media and come to Vidalia to see her just days before an argument led to the shooting. He’s thankful the jury convicted Sanders and he now faces life without a chance for parole.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity for, first of all, justice for both of these people and that’s as close as we can get to can kind of resolution.”

Copyright 2023 WTOC. All rights reserved.