A former Georgia nurse will spend the rest of his life behind bars after killing his wife less than two months into their marriage.
Benjamin Whitaker was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole following his conviction in the 2021 killing of his wife, Tiffani Scarborough, according to WMAZ-TV.
The sentence came after a retrial earlier this year following a previous jury deadlock.
Whitaker was convicted on felony murder, malice murder, and two counts of aggravated assault.
Investigators said Scarborough was found shot to death in the couple’s kitchen at their home on Penn Avenue in Dublin, Georgia. The killing happened just 59 days after the couple’s wedding.
Nurse fatally shot wife of 59 days because she was ‘nagging’ him about his drinking https://t.co/J4S2gROmVe
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) April 30, 2026
By Whitaker’s own admission, it was his wife’s “nagging” about his excess drinking that set him off, The Courier Herald reported.
During an interview with detectives, Whitaker confirmed the “nagging” is what set him off.
“She was chastising me about having a couple of drinks. That nagging set me off,” he said.
He told officers the shooting was not planned, and he called it “impulsive.”
According to courtroom testimony, Whitaker said he went into a bedroom, retrieved a handgun, and walked into the kitchen. He then shot his wife.
An autopsy later found that Scarborough was shot five times.
After the shooting, Whitaker fled the home and was later found on property belonging to his parents.
Evidence recovered from his truck included the handgun used in the killing.
The case shocked locals who were close to the couple. Scarborough’s mother described her daughter’s death as “unimaginable evil.”
She testified about arriving at the home and learning her daughter was dead.
She said it “truly was the most tragic day of my life.”
Prosecutors built their case around how quickly the marriage turned deadly, emphasizing that the couple had been husband and wife for less than two months before the shooting.
The defense argued unsuccessfully that Whitaker was not in control of his actions because he was on medication.
According to the defense, a combination of the drugs Lexapro and Buspar left Whitaker unable to understand what he was doing.
They described his actions as the result of involuntary intoxication.
The jury didn’t buy it and took only three hours to reach a guilty verdict.
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