Wendell Freeman was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Columbus County jury this afternoon (Thursday, Sept. 20), and sentenced to life in prison without an opportunity for parole.

The verdict was delivered at 3:45 p.m. after 75 minutes of deliberation. Freeman, a 37-year-old from Hallsboro, was convicted of the Aug. 14, 2004 shooting of Andrew Brown, 42, of Whiteville – a shooting that turned into murder when Brown died two days later.

Freeman was speechless when Judge Gregory Weeks explained to him that life in prison meant exactly that – no parole. Freeman, sent to prison in 2002 in a serious assault case, had been released on parole 30 days before he killed Brown.

This is the second first-degree murder verdict by a county jury in two weeks. Ramel Theodore Troy, 24, of Clarkton, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Sept. 5 after a jury convicted him of the 2002 murder of Jonathan Chase Powell.