A lurid murder trial of two teenaged girls probably will never see the inside of a Fayette County courtroom, authorities said this week.
Their trials likely will be conducted outside Fayette County, maybe in South Georgia, officials on both sides said.
An attorney for a 16-year-old Fayette County teen who authorities say joined in on a plot to rob and murder her lesbian lovers grandparents waived her right to an arraignment Monday and told the court that she is not guilty of multiple felonies.
Attorney Lloyd Walker of Peachtree City filed the waiver just one day before Sandy Ketchum was expected to appear before Fayette County Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell Jr. at 9 a.m. to answer the charges.
Last week, 15-year-old Holly Harveys Peachtree City attorney Judy Chidester filed a waiver on the younger murder suspects behalf Jan. 25.
Ketchum and Harvey each face two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder and one count of armed robbery in connection with the Aug. 2, 2004, stabbing deaths of 74-year-old Carl and Sarah Collier, 73, of North Fayette County.
Harvey, the Colliers granddaughter, allegedly lured her grandmother downstairs to her basement bedroom using the scent of burning marijuana. Armed with a knife, Ketchum allegedly lay in wait underneath Harveys bed, officials said.
During the attacks, Mrs. Collier was stabbed more than 20 times. She was found at the foot of the basement stairs on her back.
Mr. Collier was stabbed 15 times. He was found face down in the kitchen.
After the killings, the girls allegedly grabbed their grandparents jewelry, keys, a cell phone, and their grandfathers 2002 Chevy Silverado and headed south to Tybee Island, police said.
The teens were captured later in a dwelling with boys they met on the beach. Jewelry, knives, the truck and other evidence also was found with the girls, authorities said.
The teens will be tried as adults. Their trials have been scheduled for the March 21 Fayette trial calendar, but it is unlikely either will have their day in court until later this year, possibly in May.
I dont think it will be delayed much longer, Chidester said. It will be tried in the late spring or earlier.
Chidester said the extensive pre-trial coverage has given her no choice but to ask for a change of venue, so Harvey, who maintains her innocence, can be afforded a fair trial.
Chidester said Walker will follow suit, but Walker refused to comment to confirm the statement Friday. She said incoming Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard said he will not contest the change of venue.
Im concerned about what was provided to the news media from the sheriffs department, Chidester said. I think information released by the sheriffs department tainted the jury pool. The sheriffs department will probably disagree.
Chidester said shes received calls from Britain, New York, Utah, Los Angeles and abroad about the case, so she is not sure which county in Georgia she will move the trial. But it will likely be somewhere south of Fayetteville and definitely far from the south Atlanta metro area, she indicated.
Even that proposition poses a challenge since the teens were actually found near Savannah, which also garnered extensive headlines. But Chidester is hopeful.
If we move it, we have to make sure that it accommodates us there, Chidester said.
Chidester said the teens will not be tried together. She said Ketchum has made statements to authorities that have been damaging to Harveys case.