Pastor Who Murdered Fiance On His Wedding Day To Another Woman Receives Sentence Update
A former pastor who murdered his fiance on the same day he was planning to marry another woman saw his murder conviction upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court, with the judges denying his appeal and concluding he was fairly sentenced.
In 2016, William Pounds III, who pastored King’s Chapel Memorial CME Church in Perry, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of malice, felony murder, and aggravated assault for shooting Kendra Jackson, his long-term girlfriend/ fiance, in the head.
Pounds was living a double life and dating both women simultaneously for over a decade, proposing to both while convincing each other he was their true love. (The fact that any pastor would date a woman for more than a few years without marrying her is a scandal in and of itself.)
The two women learned of each other after both showed up to surprise him at his church during a pastor’s appreciation day, causing his whole scheme to implode.
Despite the infidelity, his other fiance, Vicinda Crawford, decided to stay with him and continue with the engagement, while he covertly continued seeing Jackson.
However, Jackson was sleeping over at Pounds’ house on his wedding day to Crawford. In the early hours of the morning, he claimed they were talking about ending their relationship, which resulted in Jackson grabbing a gun and shooting herself in the head because she couldn’t stand the grief of him marrying another woman. Pounds called 911 and told dispatch, “She shot herself in the head. I need an ambulance, please. I need somebody here. Damn it, Kendra, why you want to do this to me?”
Investigators arrived at the scene and instantly treated it as suspicious after a brief assessment suggested Pounds’ version of events didn’t add up, along with his fluid, shifting explanation of events.
Pounds claimed he was in bed when Jackson was shot, and yet the bed appeared tidied up and made up afterward. He said he called 911 immediately after she shot herself, but evidence showed he waited nearly 10 minutes before contacting emergency services.
Investigators found that two shots were fired from the gun, not just one, and police were unable to find any bullets or casings at the scene at all, with Pounds insisting he never did anything with them.
Lastly, Pounds claimed he tried to resuscitate Jackson at the scene, which lead detectives called “extremely messy” and bloody. Yet, the only blood Pounds had on him were tiny trace amounts on his pants, rather than what one would expect to be transferred during his rescue efforts.
Prior to his trial, his congregation raised half a million dollars for his bond, believing him innocent, but Pounds quickly violated his condition, and his bond was revoked.
With his appeal having failed, he’ll never see the light of day.
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