South Georgia Man Convicted for Third Time, Sentenced to Four Consecutive Life Sentences for 1993 Double Murder

The District Attorney’s Office for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit announced today the third conviction of 49-year-old Larry Jenkins, Jr., for the 1993 murders of Terry Ralston, 37, and her 15-year-old son, Michael Ralston. On April 10, 2025, a Glynn County Superior Court jury found Jenkins guilty of two counts of Malice Murder, two counts of Kidnapping with Bodily Injury, one count of Armed Robbery, and one count of Theft by Taking after a four-day trial.

Following the guilty verdict, a sentencing hearing was held where victim impact statements were presented. Judge Stephen G. Scarlett Sr. then sentenced Jenkins to four consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole, the maximum sentence allowed. District Attorney Keith Higgins prosecuted the case.

This conviction marks the third time Jenkins has been found guilty for these heinous crimes. His original 1995 conviction was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court due to a conflict of interest with his defense counsel and inadequate investigation of a potential defense. A second trial in 2014 also resulted in a conviction, but this was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court due to the improper admission of Jenkins’s confession.

At this third trial, District Attorney Higgins presented extensive evidence, including fifty-nine exhibits and testimony from twenty-five witnesses. This included the reading of transcribed testimony from five witnesses who had passed away since the previous trials. The evidence detailed how on January 8, 1993, the then 17-year-old Larry Jenkins kidnapped Terry and Michael Ralston from their family-owned laundromat in Jesup, Georgia. He forced them into Terry’s van, drove to a secluded area, made them lie face down, and murdered them by shooting them with a .22 magnum handgun. Afterward, Jenkins used the stolen van to pick up friends, travel to a nightclub and a house in other towns, and later cash in hundreds of dollars in stolen quarters from the laundromat. Jenkins was apprehended after police spotted the stolen van, and he fled on foot. Upon arrest, Michael Ralston’s learner’s license was found in Jenkins’s pocket.

After the sentencing, District Attorney Higgins stated his commitment to ensuring the conviction withstands any appeal, vowing to “do everything I can to make sure that Jenkins will never be free to hurt anyone else.”

The District Attorney’s Office expressed gratitude to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Jesup Police Department, and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office for their investigative work, and especially thanked the witnesses who testified after so many years.