Case against Claxton man accused of strangling uncle goes to grand jury

CLINTON (WATE) - The case against a man accused of strangling his 79-year-old uncle to death in Claxton is going to the Anderson County Grand Jury.

Norman Lee Follis, Jr., 48, told the court Thursday he was acting in self-defense and defending his live-in girlfriend from a sexual attack by his uncle, Sammie J. Adams, when the slaying happened in December 2011.

However, the judge sent first degree murder and felony theft charges against Follis to the grand jury.

Follis' girlfriend, Tammy Sue Chapman, 43, is no longer facing a charge of accessory to murder after the fact. The judge said he found no evidence that Chapman tried to hide Follis after Adams was killed.

Chapman is only charged with a burglary at the home of Follis' stepmother. She remains in custody on a $10,000 bond.

Follis is being held in jail without bond.