Following a jury trial, Sherman Ridley was convicted of malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated sodomy, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, and aggravated sodomy, all with regard to the murder of Lorraine Lansford.1 On appeal, Ridley contends, among other things, that the trial court erred by: 1 improperly commenting on the evidence; 2 allowing Ridley’s custodial statements into evidence; 3 letting the State direct Ridley to reenact the circumstances of two similar transactions; and 4 giving an improper jury charge. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that Lansford was strangled to death on October 4, 1994 in an abandoned building near the Techwood area of Atlanta. Lansford’s face and head had bruises, her face had numerous lacerations, her nose was broken, and her body had bite marks on it. The autopsy also showed that Lansford likely died while being anally penetrated. Jerry Perry and Diane Humphrey found Lansford’s body, but neither Perry nor Humphrey contacted the police. Instead, they directed others to contact the police, who showed up at the scene, secured it, and began collecting evidence. Perry talked to the police the next day and admitted that he paid to have protected sex with Lansford days before her death. He told police about the nature of his relationship with Lansford and gave samples of blood and hair. Perry later admitted that he actually paid Lansford for sex on the day of her murder, October 4, 1994. Police discounted Perry as a suspect because he had no criminal history of sex crimes.
Police also investigated Ridley in 1994 because two prostitutes had accused him of rape during the same time period and because Lansford was a prostitute. On November 21, 1994, police questioned Ridley about the alleged rape of S. D. on November 18, 1994. During the questioning, Ridley stated, “You take me on to jail.” Police then asked Ridley to listen to them, and he replied, “I don’t want to; no, no, nothing.” Police continued to question Ridley. Subsequently, in the same line of questioning, Ridley admitted to raping S. D., but said he did not have sex with Lansford. Ridley was arrested and later pled guilty to rape and aggravated assault in connection with S. D. and C. S., another prostitute. In both rapes, Ridley beat the women in the face, flipped them onto their stomachs, and raped them from behind. The injuries to Lansford indicated a similar scenario.
