DEL.ICIO.USComet Trail murder trial set for Monday
Cyclist was sexually assaulted, beaten to death in July 2006
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, April 13, 2009
Just 10 steps off the Silver Comet Trail in Paulding County, just four miles from the Cobb County line, is a well-maintained memorial to Jennifer Ewing.
A white cross is adorned with photographs of the vivacious, loving mother. Silk flowers and ceramic angels are at the base.
Jennifer Ewing rode often on the Silver Comet Trail, which stretches from Smyrna to Alabama.
John Spink/2006 photo
Michael William Ledford (left) sits with Jimmy Berry, one of his lawyers, in Paulding County Magistrate Court in August 2006.
The memorial is a reminder of what happened there three years ago. Ewing’s accused killer, Michael Ledford, is set to stand trial today in Paulding County.
Passing cyclists who never knew Ewing pay homage as they ride past the site.
“Every time I come by here, I look over and think, ‘What a tragedy,’ ” said Will Sikes, who rides the trail regularly, just as Ewing did.
Ledford is accused of ambushing Ewing as she completed the 32nd mile on her bike. She was dragged into some woods, sexually assaulted and beaten to death.
Defense lawyers worry it will be hard to find 12 jurors and four alternates who haven’t formed an opinion on Ledford’s guilt.
“A lot of people use the trail and [Ewing’s death] got a lot of publicity,” said defense attorney Jimmy Berry.
“There are people who will remember,” Berry said.
There is a chance the trial will be postponed.
The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council has not paid Ledford’s lawyers. At the same time, prosecutors have asked for a delay so they can consider a possible claim from the defense that Ledford has a mental defect.
Such a claim may be made if the trial reaches a penalty phase.
At 54, Ewing’s life was full of family and friends and love. The Sandy Springs woman had home schooled her three children. She read the classics and knew the Bible. Her family did not respond to an interview request.
In contrast, Michael Ledford’s life was marked by drinking, violence and prison time. He spent 10 years incarcerated for a 1991 rape and was serving 10 years on probation when Ewing was attacked.
Ledford has said he started drinking when he was 15, eventually consuming as many as 24 drinks a day. He said he experimented with marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and LSD.
In 2002, he pleaded guilty to terrorizing a Tennessee woman in her kitchen. And another woman said in a pre-trial hearing on Ledford’s murder case that he tried to grab her in 2005 as she biked the Silver Comet Trail.
On the afternoon of July 25, 2006, Ewing took off on her bike as she had many times before. The popular trail stretches from Smyrna to Alabama, and she regularly rode 50 miles of it.
While several agencies patrol the trail, portions are rural and isolated, such as the spot where Ewing was grabbed after she rounded a curve.
The day after Ewing was reported missing, her body was found about 70 feet off the trail on a heap of kudzu.
By that time, police already knew of Ledford because his mother called to tell them her son’s clothes were covered with blood.
He was charged with three counts of murder and several other felonies in Ewing’s death.
For a while, people were frightened away. But authorities that patrol the path on foot, bicycle and ATV say riders and walkers are back. Still, there is still some crime along the trail — mostly drug use, thefts and loitering. Ewing’s death is the most serious incident reported since that part of the trail opened in 1998.
After evidence from Ewing’s violent death was removed from the trail, a memorial of empty water bottles started forming.
A few months ago, Paulding County deputies noticed the bottles and the small cross were gone. In its place, members of Antioch Baptist Church of Paulding County erected another memorial and sign marking the place where Ewing died.
Kathy Johnson and Kit McMullan, both Cobb County high school math teachers, stopped by the site last week during a spring break ride.
“It’s a real tragedy,” Johnson said. “I just hope justice is served. For her family.”
Services »
