Former Syracuse sex offender sentenced to life in prison for beating his baby to death in Georgia

Fort Valley, Ga — A former Syracuse sex offender has been sentenced to life in prison for beating his nine-month-old son to death at a Georgia gas station.
Christopher Palmer, 43, beat his son, Cody Palmer, inside an RV at a Buc-ee’s gas station in Fort Valley Georgia on Jan. 30, 2022. A jury found him guilty of murder on Nov. 25.
In a fit of rage, Christopher Palmer beat his son, breaking his ribs and legs, according to an article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The boy died days later at an Atlanta hospital, and Palmer was charged with his death.
The case became news across the South. Cody Palmer became known as the “Buc-ee’s Baby” by prosecutors and the media.
His father tried to say that he fell but experts and medical exams on the boy revealed that he had a history of physical abuse, according to the report.
Palmer had a history of arrests back in Central New York.
He was charged with second-degree sexual abuse out of the town of Geddes in 2014, according to court records. He was sentenced to a year in jail. The victims were two girls, ages five and seven, according to the New York state sex offender registry.
At one point he was also on the county’s “Top Ten Most Wanted List” for failing to appear in court on his sexual abuse charge, according to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard archives. He was also wanted by the Cicero police for a petit larceny charge from Walmart.
In 2021 he was sentenced to nine months in the Onondaga County jail for failing to update his address on the sex offender registry, according to court records.
He was also charged with third-degree burglary in 2005 and second-degree burglary in 2006, both in Oneida County, according to a Georgia indictment.
Palmer’s wife, Shelly Deanna Rooks, 28, of Georgia, was charged as well. Due to her low IQ and disabilities, she will likely never be tried, according to the Atlanta paper. She was also abused by Palmer, prosecutors said. She testified he duct-taped her and the boys mouths, poured bleach on her, and tied her to the RV with a dog leash.
Cody Palmer’s two brothers, one of who took the stand to tell the court why Cody was beaten to death, have been placed into foster care.
The Peach County Sheriff told the court the three boys had been “enduring torture” until the night they were rescued from the trailer by first responders.
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or [email protected].