MACON, Ga. — Joey Fournier, one of the four escapees from the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center in 2023, is in court facing the murder charges that originally landed him in jail.
Fournier is accused of strangling his former girlfriend Cynthia Berry to death in her home in the Barrington Hall subdivision in Feb. 2022.
During testimony on Monday, several work acquaintances of Fournier described his actions after the murder.
Neighbors of the subdivision say it was Berry's first home, and remember how excited she was to have her own place. However, they say she only lived there for a month.
At the time of the murder, her family told 13WMAZ, she moved into the place to get away from Fournier.
Berry filed a protective order against him in 2021, but in early 2022, Fournier allegedly strangled the victim to death, in her new home on Winchester Place.
On the night of the murder, the Bibb County dispatchers didn't send a deputy until 14 minutes after the 911 call was made. The Sheriff's office says it took them at least 27 minutes to respond.
Before BSO arrived at the scene, Berry's brother found her body inside the home.
Investigators say after the murder, Fournier got his brother to drive him to Rome, Georgia where he was arrested the day after Berry's death.
Fournier and three other inmates escaped the Bibb County Jail in Jan. 2023.
He was captured without incident on near Stockbridge a little over a month after the escape.
“We are grateful that this last escapee has been captured. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of the hard-working law enforcement officers from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and from all of our partner agencies who worked tirelessly to bring these four fugitives back into custody," Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said at the time.
Escapee Johnifer Barnwell was captured at an Augusta, Marc Anderson was found and captured in an Atlanta apartment, and Chavis Stokes was captured at a home in Montezuma.