An escort and her boyfriend have pleaded guilty to murder in the death of a Georgia father whose body was dumped in Upson County days after his family reported him missing.
It is the first of two malice murder charges Kiera Williams, 19, and Cameron Montez Jones, 21, will have to face. The duo are also charged along with a second woman, 22-year-old Ashanti Dorsey, in a homicide in Clayton County.
Marie Broder, a senior prosecutor in the Griffin Judicial Circuit, called the case “a modern day Bonnie and Clyde story.”
Credit: Upson County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Upson County Sheriff's Office
The suspects are accused in a number of crimes, including carjacking, armed robbery and aggravated assault, involving five different men across the two counties. Some of the victims were potential customers set up by members of the trio to rob them of cash, authorities said.
In the Upson homicide, victim Roderick Crawford first contacted Williams through an escort website, according to the sheriff’s office. It is unclear what Williams and Jones intended for Crawford, a father of four, before he was killed and his body was dumped behind an abandoned home on Grantling Street in Thomaston.
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The Lamar County man’s remains were found Jan. 3, 2019, days after his SUV was discovered in Clayton County.
Jones, who is from Thomaston, also pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated assault in the Upson County case. His girlfriend previously pleaded guilty to malice murder.
Both were sentenced to life in prison followed by 20 years, according to authorities with the Griffin Judicial Circuit. Prosecutors worked with multiple agencies to provide closure to Crawford’s family, Broder said.
The family and law enforcement were in agreement with both guilty pleas, she said.
“These crimes would have never been solved but for the diligent efforts of the incredible men and women in these agencies,” Broder said in a statement. “They put in countless hours to apprehend these dangerous criminals and bring them to justice.”
Williams, Jones and Dorsey will next have to stand trial in Clayton County. Each is facing multiple charges related to various crimes, including the deaths of two more men.
Mario Edwards, 28, of Covington, was found dead Dec. 21, 2018, inside a vacant apartment in Forest Park. He was shot at least once two days earlier, Forest Park police said.
All three are facing malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault armed robbery and weapons charges in Edwards’ death.
Credit: Photo: Clayton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Photo: Clayton County Sheriff's Office
Only Dorsey is accused in the third homicide, the Jan. 2, 2019, shooting death of Dontavious Morrison. According to Clayton County police, Morrison was Dorsey’s boyfriend.
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Their cases are still pending in Clayton County Superior Court, officials said Wednesday. Jones and Dorsey are awaiting trial in that county’s jail, while Williams has been in the custody of Pulaski State Prison since pleading guilty Oct. 8 in the Upson County case.
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