Palmer retrial to begin Monday
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

Palmer, center, will receive a retrial next week for the murders of his wife and stepdaughter.

The retrial of a Burke County man convicted of murdering his wife and stepdaughter is set to begin Monday.

Willie W. Palmer will stand trial at the Burke County Court House before Superior Court Judge William Fleming.

The master witness list filed by District Attorney Danny Craig's office includes more than 70 people.

In 1997, Palmer was handed two death sentences after he was found guilty for the 1995 murders of Brenda Jenkins Palmer, 31, and her daughter Christine Jenkins, 15. Brenda Palmer's 15- month-old daughter was found, unharmed, next to her sister's lifeless body.

In 2005, however, the Georgia Supreme Court granted Palmer a retrial. One of the state's witnesses had allegedly been paid $500 to testify, but it was not originally disclosed during the trial.

Palmer's nephew, Frederico Palmer, who was also convicted for the murders but testified against his uncle, is currently serving two life terms. He is among the witnesses scheduled to testify at the retrial next week.

This will mark the third time Palmer has been tried for the murders. His first trial, held in Burke County, ended in a mistrial. The trial was then moved to Washington County, where he and Frederico Palmer were convicted.