Rome Circuit District Attorney Leigh Patterson has been named District Attorney of the Year in Georgia. Patterson received the honor Monday from Cathy Helms, district attorney of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit, at the annual Prosecuting Attorneys Council Summer Capital Litigation Conference on Jekyll Island.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it,” Patterson said.

She is the first woman to receive the statewide honor. “I was really surprised. I have no idea who nominated me.”

Helms called Patterson her hero for being able to win a murder case in another circuit without a body. Patterson successfully prosecuted former LaFayette police sergeant Sam Parker for the murder of his estranged wife Teresa.