A Butts County 18-year-old charged in the beating death of his grandmother "never gave a solid reason" for the attack, said the Butts County sheriff.
JeNorman Bland was denied bond on Thursday and will remain in jail until he goes before a Towaliga Judicial Circuit Superior Court judge, a magistrate said.
Bland, 18, is charged with murder and is alleged to have attacked Glenda Woodard with an aluminum baseball bat Tuesday evening, pummeling her repeatedly until she died. Investigators say the attack followed Woodard's refusal to take Bland to the store.
"The facts of this case are especially horrendous and grotesque," said Richard Milam, the district attorney for the Towaliga Judicial District that includes Butts County, on Thursday. "A young man killing someone he otherwise should love … I'm afraid I've seen that too many times."
About a dozen family members and friends -- some in tears as others offered comforting whispers and embraces -- watched Thursday morning as Bland emerged from a holding cell behind the Butts County Magistrate courtroom handcuffed and shackled, wearing an orange jumpsuit.
Bland could barely be heard as he stood and answered questions from the magistrate judge.
After the 12-minute hearing, Butts County Sheriff Gary Long allowed Bland's father and several other family members to visit JeNorman briefly in the holding cell.
Relatives declined to speak to reporters.
Long said Bland has shown remorse over what happened to Woodard.
"There's not a doubt in my mind that he loved his grandmother," Long said. "He's indicated that to us."
But what led to the alleged attack remains murky.
"Through interviews, he never gave a solid reason," Long said.
Long said family members told him that Bland has been diagnosed as bipolar. Investigators are having doctors evaluate Bland, he said.
Authorities said Woodard had spoken on the phone with her daughter, Bland's mother, around 6 p.m., Tuesday, and was preparing to go to work when Bland came to her to ask for a ride to the store.
He wanted to buy cigars, Long said.
"He asked her to take him to the store," he said. "She refused because she had to go to work. And, of course, the assault happened."
Jackson Police confirmed that Bland, a senior at Jackson High School, was charged with fighting at school in October, but no other record of run-ins with the law (since his 17th birthday, when he can be charged as an adult) were apparent, authorities said.
He remains in the Butts County jail with the earliest possible court date available to him on March 20, authorities said.
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