‘Mr. X' murder, rape trial begins

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A jury heard opening arguments Wednesday afternoon in the case of a man accused of raping and strangling a woman in 1994.

Michael Harvey, 49, is charged with murder, rape and assault in the death of 39-year-old Valerie Payton. Payton's naked and cut up body was found among weeds and debris not far from the Reynoldstown community.

Harvey was arrested in 2008 after DNA tests linked him to Payton, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said.

"It is his DNA inside her and only his DNA," Sheila Ross, assistant district attorney, told the courtroom Wednesday.

Payton had over 50 carvings on her body when she was found, and a photo of her 8-year-old son was placed on her stomach, Ross said during opening arguments. Handwritten on the back of the photo were the words, "I'M BACK ATLANTA, MR. X," written in a block style with all capital letters, Ross said.

"They will never be able to prove that is Mr. Harvey's handwriting," Harvey's attorney, Ricky Morris, told the jury of seven men and six women.

Morris contends that Harvey had sex with Payton, a known prostitute, but did not kill her. A witness described seeing Payton with a taller, lighter-skinned man than Harvey before her death, Morris said.

At least 16 other prostitutes were murdered during the same period, and Harvey was not linked to any of those, Morris said.

The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The medical examiner who performed Payton's autopsy is expected to testify first.