A Valley Head resident, Marcus Ricketts entered a plea agreement for the murder of William Goldin in 2018. The plea agreement will give him a 20 year sentence and He will also have to pay court costs which totals $679. He also was given credit for time served meaning he has already served four years and three months of his 20-year sentence.

On June 30th, 2018 the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about a possible murder that had reportedly happened approximately some two months earlier.

According to the Sheriff, after deputies went to a residence located on Road 9095 in Valley Head to talk with a suspect, a 22 year old by the name of Marcus Gordon Ricketts, he confessed to the crime and lead Deputies and Investigators to a body which was buried in the woods behind the home, at which point he was taken into custody and charged with murder.

In 2018, Ricketts was living with Chasity Hill who he met through video games and was dating. Her father was William Goldin, the man Ricketts killed.

Court documents show that Ricketts entered three separate confessions and in all three of them he alleges that Goldin was abusive to him and his girlfriend Hill. Ricketts also said that he was terrified of Goldin and had been hit by him some nights. Ricketts told officers that Goldin was a violent man who had threatened and abused him and he confessed to murdering him.