Judge throws out murder charge against man accused of killing wife

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Paulding County judge threw out the most serious charges filed against a husband accused of killing his wife, leaving the victim's family confused and outraged.

Cynde Bates, 28, died May 6 of blunt force trauma to the back of her head, Dallas police said.

Bates' husband, Jonathan Bates, admitted he pushed her inside their home in Dallas during an argument the day before, police said.

Their two children, ages 4 and 7, were present when this happened, according to a police report.

"Her kids are lost without her," Bates' sister Sandy Dement told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson. "Her family is lost without her. We don’t get to talk to her anymore."

Dallas police charged Jonathan Bates with murder, two counts of cruelty to children and simple battery after doctors took his wife off of life support.

Chief Judge Tonny Beavers said Tuesday he did not see enough evidence to find probable cause for murder and cruelty to children, the victim's family and authorities said.

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Jonathan Bates remains in the Paulding County jail on a misdemeanor simple battery charge and an unrelated probation violation.

He is free to post a $1,500 bail once he serves 30 days for violating his probation.

A court administrator said he could not comment on the judge's ruling.

"How are you going to say there's not enough evidence whenever the autopsy revealed blunt trauma to the back of the head?" Dement said. "It's not right and he doesn’t deserve to get away with this."

Paulding County District Attorney Dick Donovan said he intends to take the case to a grand jury.

Capt. Bill Gorman, one of the Dallas police investigators on the case, told Johnson the decision was a setback, but not the end of the road.

"I understand their feelings," Gorman said. "A lot of people are hurt -- they're angry, they're livid -- but I wish they would give us time. We still have other options that are available to us."

Cynde Bates is being remembered by family members as a loving mother who enjoyed spending time with her family and being outdoors.

"She was a good mother," Dement told Johnson. "She was a good wife. She was good at everything, and he just took advantage of her."

Family members said Bates was concerned her husband's years of alleged physical abuse would escalate after she told him she wanted a divorce May 5.

"She did tell me that that night she had asked him for a divorce and she needed to leave,"
said Sandy Dement, Cynde Bates' mother who shares the same name as her other daughter.

Bates' father was to pick her and the children up the next day, her mother says.

"She said, 'I'll see you tomorrow,’” her mother said. “But I saw her the next day, just not the way I wanted."

A police report obtained by Johnson indicates DFCS alerted Dallas police on May 5 that the couple's two children had witnessed a fight between their parents and that their mother was in the hospital with serious injuries.

It was the second time Cynde Bates was taken to a hospital that day.

Police said her husband called 911 at around 2 a.m. to report his wife was unconscious and not breathing at their home on W.I. Parkway in Dallas.

Authorities didn’t see any signs of struggle during that incident and wrote there is a “history of alcohol and medical calls at that residence.”

Later that night, police arrested Jonathan Bates after they said he admitted he “pushed her away causing her to fall on the couch.”

Cynde Bates died a day after she was taken to the hospital. Police said they are not investigating any other suspects.

“She was beautiful,” her sister said, “and she deserves justice.”

The family has setup a GoFundMe for Cynde's mother to help with funeral expenses.

Cox Media Group