Goodrich man receives 99-year sentence for 2017 murder of wife

From Enterprise Staff

John Orbon Speights, 78 of Goodrich, was sentenced to 99 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the Aug. 26, 2017 murder of his wife, Carolyn Carroll, in the 411th District Court on Monday.

On Aug. 26, 2017, Carroll activated her Life Alert, stating that her husband, Speights, was drunk and she was afraid. Representatives of Life Alert contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office when they were unable to make contact with her after she activated the alert a second time. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call and found Carroll non-responsive. Speights was arrested that night for first degree murder.

Following the announcement of the sentence by 411th District Judge John E. Wells III, a member of the family gave a victim impact statement prior to Speights leaving the courtroom. Speights was represented by Bobby L. Phillips of Livingston.