ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — A Dougherty County mother convicted of killing the father her children, will learn her fate Sept. 4 at 1:30 p.m.

Jenna Colley was convicted in February for the murder of her boyfriend, Ken Covin, a well known youth coach and former athlete in Dougherty County.

Colley was found guilty of the following charges:

• Felony murder
• Malice murder
• Aggravated assault with family violence
• Possession of a cutting tool during the commission of a crime

In court Friday, Judge Denise Marshall heard arguments from both, the state, and the defense, regarding how Colley should be sentenced.

The state requested that Colley be sentenced immediately in Friday’s hearing, but the defense requested that the court consider Georgia’s Survivors Justice Act when sentencing her.

In the new legislation passed May 2025, if the court finds by a preponderance of evidence that Colley herself had been in the past, and was, a victim of domestic violence, in lines with the survivors justice act, Colley could receive a lesser than the mandatory life in prison sentence.

The defense is requesting transcripts of Ken Covin’s mother from a previous hearing to prepare to argue this at sentencing.

Defense: “What I had asked for was the transcript from the mother’s testimony that established that the mother of the victim had witnessed prior acts of abuse committed against my client.”

State: “Mr. Ken Covin, the deceased victim, struggled in the kitchen. Had he killed her, he would actually be entitled to survivor justice relief based upon the history of efforts to try to keep this defendant from continuing to abuse him. That’s what the actual trial presented. But of course, the defendant has the opportunity, if she wishes to present what she’s saying that she is entitled to the, Survival Justice Act. But certainly what the court should do is impose the sentence and then the defendant has no limitation on the opportunity to come back in on the Survival Justice Act that’s presently articulated.”

Defense: “With regard to the sentencing, the evidence is to be presented pursuant to 17T and 22A. The very first three words, well, five words, says, at the time of sentencing.”

Ultimately, Judge Marshall stated she was not comfortable sentencing Colley today.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.