St. Augustine man sentenced to death for 2015 murders of wife, best friend

James Colley, the St. Augustine man who gunned down his wife and her best friend in 2015, was sentenced to death Friday for the crimes.

PHOTO GALLERY: Who is who in the Colley double murder case?

The punishment was swift and decisive. A St. Johns County judge sentenced Colley, 38, to death for killing Amanda Colley and Lindy Dobbins.

Judge Howard Maltz called the killings cold and calculated before submitting his 72-page sentencing order detailing the reasons for his ruling.

The formal sentence comes after jury unanimously recommended the death penalty for Colley.

Killer has little reaction as verdict is read 

As the sentence was read in open court on Friday, Colley sat still while the families of Amanda and Lindy hugged each other and wept.

“You killed these two young mothers in the prime of their lives,” said Maltz. “Your conduct not only killed the two victims in this case but devastated two families including your own.”

Maltz went on to call the crimes “heinous, atrocious, and cruel.”

On Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, Colley went to the Murabella home he used to share with Amanda, even though a restraining order should’ve prohibited him from doing so. He shot her nine times and then turned the gun on Lindy.

DOCUMENTS: Man, woman barely escaped Murabella shooting 

Witnesses testified that Colley went to the home looking for the man Amanda was dating.

A jury also convicted Colley of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of burglary, and one count of aggravated stalking.

Before leaving the court room Colley said “I love you guys” to his family that was sitting directly behind him. He also said, “see you all soon”.

The victims’ families did not speak publicly. Neither did Colley’s family.

Colley’s mom told Action News Jax off camera that she loves her son and that “the whole story was not told."

Defense attorney, Garry Woods, said he will file an appeal to point out “many issues” to the Florida supreme court in the hopes of getting a new trial. However, he wouldn’t elaborate on what the issues were.

“They’ll all be listed when we file the appeal which will be coming in the next few weeks,” said Woods.

Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson said it won’t be that easy.

“If the court has performed adequately to make sure evidence doesn’t come in that shouldn’t come in or evidence that should come in does come in, then there’s no real way for there to be a retrial,” said Carson.

In the meantime, Colley will spend his days sitting on death row.

The sentencing judge told Colley, "You characterized what happened in this case as a “horrible accident”. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"The evidence presented in this case established that both of these murders were committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner."

The sentence marks the likely end to a double murder that rocked a quiet subdivision in central St. Johns County. Colley was also sentenced to life for the attempted murder of Lamar Douberly, a friend of Amanda Colley's who was in the house the day the two women were shot.

Cox Media Group