Perhaps the most crucial piece of testimony in this week’s murder trial against William Edward “Eddie” Robbins will be called into question by defense attorneys, thanks to testimony expected from the former prosecutor who was involved in the case.

Hanging in the balance is testimony from Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan, chief detective of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, regarding a conversation he had with Robbins on the porch of Robbins’ in-laws’ home in Jonesboro while detectives searched the home for a gun Robbins once owned.

In an October pre-trial hearing, Jordan testified that during that conversation he asked Robbins if he shot David Mangham and Francis Michael Fowler “in self-defense.” Jordan testified that Robbins nodded his head slightly in response.

But Dan Hiatt, who was once chief assistant district attorney in the Griffin Judicial Circuit and handled the legal end of the investigation including a grand jury inquiry, testified Tuesday in a motion hearing that he did not recall Jordan ever informing him of such a reaction from Robbins, or any indication that Robbins admitted to the killings in any way.

Chief Superior Court Judge Paschal A. English Jr. denied defense motions to quash the indictment, bar Jordan from testifying in the case or in the alternative limit Jordan from testifying about the alleged nod.

Hiatt’s testimony could be used instead in an attempt to impeach Jordan’s testimony, English said.

Jordan was not called to testify in Tuesday’s pre-trial hearing on the matter. He said late Tuesday afternoon that he expects the truth about the situation will come out during the trial.

“There will be several witnesses who will testify to the truth,” Jordan said, adding that he suspects “dirty politics” or “incompetence” was in play at Tuesday’s hearing.

Jurors did not hear yesterday’s testimony because they had been excused for the day; instead it is likely to be broached during the examinations of witnesses at trial.

Robbins is accused of killing Mangham and Fowler at Mangham’s home in the Princeton Chase subdivision off Ga. Highway 314 North in April 2003 with two gunshots to the backs of their heads.
Police said Mangham’s gun had been found a short distance from his body, leading police to believe he might have been trying to defend himself from an intruder.

Police have alleged that Robbins stole between $3,000 and $4,000 in cash from Mangham’s home when the killings occurred.

Hiatt, who left the DA’s office in April of this year to join the Georgia Attorney General’s office, said he learned of Jordan’s testimony in an account of the October motions hearing on the case by reading The Citizen’s web site. After reading the account, he informed the Fayette County District Attorney’s office about his recollections in the case via a phone call and a letter which he faxed to the office.

In October, Jordan testified that he was the only person present when Robbins nodded in response to the question, so he walked away briefly to get another detective to witness Robbins’ response, and when Jordan re-asked the question, Robbins said he would decline to answer the question.

Jury selection ended yesterday afternoon in the trial of a Jonesboro man accused of murdering two old high school buddies at a home in north Fayette County in May 2003.

The three went to Forest Park High School together, police said.

Police have alleged that Robbins stole between $3,000 and $4,000 in cash from Mangham’s home when the killings occurred.

The trial is expected to be emotional at times, particularly because one of Robbins’ older sons is expected to testify about a conversation he had via phone with Mangham, reputedly a day before Mangham and Fowler were actually killed. The testimony from Matthew Robbins is expected to refute Eddie Robbins’s initial statement to police that he hadn’t been in Fayette County prior to the murder.

In a pre-trial hearing in October, Matthew Robbins testified that Mangham told him that he and his dad had met the day of the conversation and driven around in one of Mangham’s cars.

Mangham, who was 48 at the time of his death, owned and operated Georgia Topsoil Company.

A $30 million judgment was entered last year against Robbins in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Mangham’s parents, Orris and Carrie Mangham. The couple filed the suit, hoping to compel Robbins to testify with information that could be helpful to the criminal investigation, but Robbins declined to take the stand.

The judgment was entered after Robbins and his attorney declined to answer the list of questions filed by the Manghams, and they refused to submit to a deposition in the case, according to Melvin Hewitt Jr., an Atlanta attorney who represented the Manghams. Under Georgia’s civil law, failure to answer the questions or submit to a deposition equates to admitting the allegations of the complaint, Hewitt explained.

login to post comments