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Report: St. Johns County double murder suspect laughed about killings

A former cellmate of James Colley, the St. Johns County man accused of murdering his wife and her friend in Aug. 2015, told investigators that Colley admitted to the crime in jail.

He even laughed about it, Andrew Cherry said.

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Cherry, who was in the St. Johns County Jail on an out-of-county warrant, told investigators that Colley was “sitting there laughing about it and making jokes about it."

Colley is accused of shooting his estranged wife, Amanda Cloaninger Colley, and her friend Lindy Dobbins. The two women were together in a Murabella home near World Golf Village in St. Johns County on the morning of Aug. 27, 2015 when Colley allegedly burst in and shot the two women.

Two other people, a woman and man, escaped unharmed.

Cherry was interviewed by investigators ahead of Colley’s trial.

Colley has pleaded not guilty, and the state has said they are seeking the death penalty. Newly released documents detail what Cherry revealed to investigators about their conversations in the St. Johns County Jail.

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“He did actually say that he killed his wife many, many times,” Cherry is heard saying. “He’s sitting there laughing about it and making jokes about it. [They] got what they deserved.”

The double murder rocked the upscale community in central St. Johns County.

In DVDs, voicemails and interviews obtained in late 2015, Colley's mother told police that Colley called his sister and said he had "shot Amanda." His mom also describes being with him after leaving the court hearing Colley had that morning, as he and his wife were going through a divorce.

The shooting triggered a massive manhunt for Colley and forced the lockdown of three local schools. After the shooting, Colley is accused of fleeing to Virginia, where he was arrested when an officer spotted his Infiniti.

Colley is due in court next on Feb. 28.

A former cellmate of James Colley, the St. Johns County man accused of murdering his wife and her friend in Aug. 2015, told investigators that Colley admitted to the crime in jail:

Posted by Action News Jax on Monday, February 6, 2017
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