Yesterday, March 24, 2025, the sentencing hearing for Arrief McKenzie was held after his February 25, 2025 guilty plea to the murder of Niki McKenzie. The Court heard from numerous witnesses, including family members of the victim, former coworkers of the victim, a family member of the Defendant, and a psychologist on behalf of the Defendant. After a full day of testimony and argument, the Court sentenced Arrief McKenzie to life without parole plus 20 years.
In 2019, the Defendant pleaded guilty to family violence battery against his wife, Niki McKenzie. As part of the conditions of his sentence, the Defendant was to have no contact with Niki. Additionally, a court granted a temporary protective order, also ordering no contact. Due to this, the Defendant moved out of their Newton County home to a residence in Gwinnett County. During this time, the Defendant began to see another woman, Jillian Myles-Walters.
In the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, the Defendant went to Jillian’s townhouse apartment where she lived with her two young twin boys. The Defendant took a knife from Jillian’s kitchen and proceeded to stab and cut Jillian 7 times, leading to her death. The Defendant then fled the area and headed towards Niki’s residence.
When Niki raised the garage to head to work, the Defendant ambushed her. With the same knife that he used to kill Jillian, the Defendant stabbed and cut Niki 21 times. Family members in the house heard screams and called 911. The Newton County Sheriff’s Office quickly responded, arriving at the gruesome scene and finding Niki dead from her wounds. Based on the evidence collected and the statements given by family at the house, warrants were quickly obtained for the Defendant.
A short time later, the Defendant was stopped for suspicion of DUI in Dunwoody. During that stop, the Dunwoody Officer observed a large amount of blood on the Defendant’s clothes and his car. After removing some open beer bottles on his passenger seat, the officer found the knife that was used in both murders in the vehicle.
The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Randy McGinley, Chief Assistant District Attorney Amber Dally, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Bailey Wilkinson, Deputy Chief Investigator Jill Lumpkin, Chief Investigator Kelly Whire, Senior Victim Advocate Shay Payne, Victim Advocate Gabby Arredondo, Trial Assistant Ellen Bales, and Senior Legal Assistant Cindi Hendrix. The investigation was led by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the Gwinnett County Police Department, and the District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the Dunwoody Police Department, the GBI Crime Lab, and the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office. The victim’s family received services from A Child’s Voice.
The charges in Gwinnett are pending.
I first want to thank Niki’s family for their everlasting support of their loved one. She raised amazing children who will push forward and do great things. While this conclusion will not undo what happened, the sentence will provide some level of justice for the family. But it also sends a strong message to our community that crimes like this will lead to the most severe consequences. I also want to thank the hard work of multiple agencies working together to bringing justice to Niki’s family.
Randy McGinley
District Attorney
Alcovy Judicial Circuit
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