Worley Convicted After Good Samaritan Rescues Victim

PANAMA CITY, FL – A Georgia man who badly beat his girlfriend and threatened her with a gun during a 2024 trip to Bay County was found guilty of multiple felonies by a 6-person jury Friday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Jurors deliberated about an hour before finding Anthony Wayn Worley, 62, of Moreland, Ga., guilty of Aggravated Battery, Domestic Battery by Strangulation, and False Imprisonment. He also was guilty of Assault, a misdemeanor. Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark set sentencing for Feb. 18.

Prosecutor Jackson White, assisted by Prosecutor Christopher Walters, presented evidence and witnesses proving the defendant badly beat the defendant in their Thomas Drive hotel room Oct. 12, 2024. The victim testified Worley also tried to smother her with a pillow and threatened her with a gun.

The victim, who was crying and screaming loudly for help, managed to get out of the room but was being dragged back in when a Good Samaritan heard her cries for help and intervened, getting the victim to safety and awaiting the arrival of Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

“But for the brave actions of the Good Samaritan responding to her screams for help, there is no way to know what would have happened if the defendant had gotten her back into that room,”

White said after the trial. “Because of his help, we do know the man who beat and threatened to shoot the victim is now facing prison time.”

The victim testified she and the defendant had been dating in Georgia and were in Bay County scouting for a possible place to live. She said both had been drinking and were outside when someone, unsolicited, complimented her on her appearance. That upset the defendant, who began arguing with her, she said.

She testified she headed back to the room, telling the defendant she was “going back to Georgia. He didn’t like that.”

Inside the room, she said, the defendant repeatedly punched her, tried to smother her with a pillow, and waved a loaded gun at her saying, “I got one bullet for you and one bullet for me.”

She managed to escape the room, but the defendant caught her.

The testimony of the victim and the Good Samaritan was solidified by video surveillance at the hotel, with audio, that captured the victim’s repeated cries and screams for help.

The video shows the defendant, arms wrapped around the victim from behind, shoving her toward their room as she screams, struggles and yells for help. The Good Samaritan comes from around corner and attempts to help the woman, but she and the defendant fell into the room.

Eight seconds later the victim is seen rising in the doorway and escaping again, still yelling for help, with the two men still inside the room. Eight more seconds pass before the Good Samaritan appears outside the door and tells the victim to go to his room for safety as he stops the defendant from following her.

He then awaited the arrival of deputies.

The victim suffered a broken nose and orbital socket that required emergency medical treatment, as well as a number of braces and scrapes.

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Good Samaritan who got the victim to safety and testified Friday.