An Alabama man convicted of murder in the shotgun killing of a Georgia man whose body was discovered wrapped in a toolbox was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday.
In January, a Cherokee County jury convicted Eric Kyle Hooper, 31, of Centre, of murder in the shotgun killing of LaChancey Williams, a 40-year-old Georgia resident.
Williams’ body was discovered on March 15, 2022, during road maintenance on Esom Hill Road in Polk County, Georgia. The road crew uncovered a black truck toolbox containing a body wrapped in a sheet.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the victim as Williams, a Cedartown resident who had been shot twice. According to court filings, Williams was slain on March 9.
Investigators established that the murder occurred in Cherokee County, and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office took the lead in the investigation.
Authorities identified Hooper as the suspect after detecting a fingerprint on the duct tape retrieved from the tarp around Williams’ body and hearing witness accounts.
According to authorities, the killing was drug-related.
On Friday, Cherokee County Circuit Court Judge Shaunathan C. Bell sentenced Hooper to life in prison.
Williams had been a self-employed painter for several years.
“He never held anything back but would give you the shirt off of his back,’’ according to his obituary. “He was an avid fan of Alabama football and enjoyed fishing.”