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Final Copy 287 Ga. 364 S10P0477. TATE v. THE STATE. Benham, Justice. Chrissie Williams and her three-year-old daughter, Katelyn Williams, were found dead in their home. Chrissie Williams was found bound to a bed with handcuffs and duct tape, and she had a bullet wound to her head. Katelyn Williams was found naked on the floor of another room, and her throat had been slit. Nicholas Cody Tate pleaded guilty to both murders and to related crimes, and he waived his right to a jury trial as to sentencing for the murders.1 At the
The crimes occurred on December 11, 2001. Tate was indicted by a Paulding County grand jury on February 20, 2002, on two counts of malice murder, eight counts of felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, two counts of kidnapping, four counts of burglary, one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, two counts of false imprisonment, and one count of child molestation. The State filed written notice of its intent to seek the death penalty on July 8, 2003. On November 15, 2005, Tate pleaded guilty to eight of the twenty-nine charges against him, including the two counts of malice murder. Tate waived his right to a jury trial on sentencing for the murders, and a bench trial was conducted from November 28 to December 2, 2005. On December 19, 2005, the trial court sentenced Tate to death for each of the murders and to the following terms of imprisonment for the remaining counts to which Tate pleaded guilty, each to be served consecutively: two life terms for each of the two counts of kidnapping; ten years for conspiracy to commit armed robbery; ten years for child molestation; fifteen years for cruelty to children in the first degree; and five years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a
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conclusion of a bench trial on sentencing, the trial court found the existence of multiple statutory aggravating circumstances and sentenced Tate to death for each of the murders. See OCGA

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