In early May 12, 2019, police arrived at the Milledgeville, Georgia, house to discover Marianne Shockley unresponsive and bleeding on the floor. Marianne was later declared dead, and police found that she was sleeping with her boyfriend, Marcus Lillard, and the homeowner, Clark Heindel. “24 Hours: The Strange The Death of Prof. Shockley The film will take viewers through the horrific incident and explores how the tragic incident affected Marcus. We’ve got you covered if you’re interested in the case and want to know what happened to Marcus and where Marcus is today.
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Who Is Marcus Lillard?
Marcus Lillard and Marianne Shockley were long-time friends who first came into contact as undergraduates at Georgia College in Milledgeville. While the two bonded quite well initially, things changed, and they parted ways, eventually falling apart. Then, Marcus became just another acquaintance of Marianne while she enrolled to become a renowned instructor of the entomology department at the University of Georgia.
But, a few years before the shocking death of Marianne, Marcus reconnected with Marianne, and they began talking about their time. They then started dating and had a committed relationship when they experienced the tragic incident. The reports also mentioned they believed that Marcus Lillard had been previously sentenced to a non-related drug conviction and was currently completing his probation when Marianne was tragically killed.
The show claims that Marianne seemed very excited about spending an entire day with Marcus as she traveled to Milledgeville in Georgia on May 11, 2019. The two had a full day of fun going to clubs and enjoying meals before Marcus drove his wife to visit his friend’s home, Clark Heindel’s. When they arrived at the home, Clark, Marianne, and Marcus planned to have an evening of fun. Reports indicated that the trio was later discovered to have been drinking alcohol and even drugs, including MDMA. At some point, Marcus reportedly decided to leave to buy additional firewood while Marianne was in her hot tub.
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While Clark was in the vicinity, he did not pay any attention to Marianne, and Marcus came back to discover her in a state of non-responsiveness and lying face down inside the pool. Together they took the unconscious woman out of the tub, and Marcus even reached out to a handful of his buddies for guidance, but with little avail. When they finally called the 911 number, and the emergency personnel arrived on the site, Marianne had already passed to death. Police arrived to find her in complete suffocation and unresponsive with a massive bloody cut on her head. Meanwhile, an autopsy confirmed that she had been murdered by strangulation.
Where Is Marcus Lillard Today?
In the course of questioning, Marcus and Clark claimed that it was too to be late by the time they saw the unconscious Marianne. But, once the police had concluded interviewing Clark, he disappeared to his home and passed away by suicide. The second suicide was shocking, but since Clark’s suicide notice had no information regarding Marianne’s death, The police centered their focus on Marcus.
The authorities soon realized that Marcus’ claims to be going out to get firewood was a bit odd, as the home already had a huge enough supply and the weather was damp, which could have caused finding dry wood to be extremely difficult. So, if it turned out to be an error with his claim, the police were able to arrest Marcus Lillard and charged him with charges of murder, aggravated assault and reckless conduct, involuntary murder and concealing the murder of a third.
When he was brought before the trial, Marcus Lillard pled not guilty to any charges and insisted that he was innocent. Even though the prosecution claimed Marcus had strangled Marianne to death and even obtained witnesses to prove that he was fond of choking his lover during sexual activity, the jury was convinced contrary. At the end of the trial, Marcus was found innocent and was acquitted on all counts connected to the murder of Marianne in 2022.
However, because Marcus was on probation when he was involved in the event case, the court removed his probation and returned him to prison. In the end, Marcus is currently in jail at Burruss Correctional Training Center. Burruss Correctional Training Center on an unrelated drug conviction as well as a probable day of release in 2030.