NEWTON COUNTY – A Gwinnett County man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after murdering his wife.

Arrief McKenzie was sentenced on March 24 to life without parole plus 20 years for killing Niki McKenzie, a 51-year-old Covington woman who was married to Arrief. 

The sentencing comes one month after Arrief pled guilty to charges including malice murder, felony murder, burglary in the first degree, home invasion in the first degree, family violence aggravated assault, aggravated stalking and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. While prosecutors originally sought the death penalty for these charges, the State withdrew its intent after Arrief pled guilty and waived his right to trial by jury.

According to a press release from the Newton County District Attorney’s (DA) Office, Arrief and Niki were estranged after Arrief pled guilty to family violence battery against Niki in 2019. As part of the 2019 sentencing, Arrief was to have no contact with Niki. This caused Arrief to move away from their residence in Newton County.

Arrief then moved to Gwinnett County where he began seeing 36-year-old Jillian Myles-Waters. In the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, Arrief entered Myles-Waters’ home and allegedly stabbed her seven times while at home with her two young twin boys. Myles-Waters died from her injuries.

Soon thereafter, prosecutors claimed Arrief fled to Newton County where he ambushed Niki as she was leaving to go to work. The press release states that Arrief stabbed and cut Niki 21 times with the same knife he used earlier in the day, leading to her death at the scene.

An officer pulled over Arrief on suspicion of driving under the influence in Dunwoody. The officer reportedly saw a “large amount of blood” on Arrief’s clothes and car. After removing opened beer bottles from the vehicle, officers spotted the knife.

With the Newton County Sheriff’s Office quickly issuing warrants for Arrief’s arrest following Niki’s murder, he was taken into custody where he faced the aforementioned charges.

According to the DA’s office, the court heard from a number of witnesses including some of Niki’s family members and former co-workers. The court also got to hear from one of Arrief’s family members as well as a psychologist on his behalf.

After a full day of testimony, the life without parole plus 20 year sentence was handed down.

The charges against Arrief are pending in Gwinnett County for the murder of Myles-Waters.

“I first want to thank Niki’s family for their everlasting support of their loved one,” said Newton County District Attorney Randy McGinley via a press release. “She raised amazing children who will push forward and do great things. While this conclusion will not undo what happened, the sentence will provide some level of justice for the family. But it also sends a strong message to our community that crimes like this will lead to the most severe consequences. I also want to thank the hard work of multiple agencies working together to bringing justice to Niki’s family.”