There won’t be a third trial for a man accused of killing his friend at a Gwinnett County park.
But 22-year-old Austin Tybre Ford will still spend 10 years in prison for concealing her death and two theft charges, a Gwinnett judge ruled Wednesday.
The sentencing came days after a second mistrial on murder charges in the July 2021 shooting death of 18-year-old Tori Lang at Yellow River Park. During his first trial in May, Ford was convicted of the lesser charges, but a mistrial was declared on murder, aggravated assault and voluntary manslaughter charges. On Friday, a second mistrial was announced.
Prosecutors said Wednesday they will not move for a third trial.
“Unfortunately, there was a lack of direct evidence speaking affirmatively to which person pulled the trigger,” District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement. “The defense argued that Tori herself pulled the trigger as she was ‘suicidal,’ a narrative pushed primarily by the defendant. The circumstantial nature of proving that Ford fired the shot that killed Tori, and (the medical examiner’s) inability to rule out suicide, made this a particularly difficult case to prove.”
Ford’s mother and his former youth football coach both spoke about the young man during his sentencing, which was broadcast on Law and Crime’s YouTube channel.
“Very compassionate kid. Willing to learn. Team-oriented,” Yaquis Shelley, Ford’s former coach, told the court. “I never had a behavior issue out of him.”
But prosecutors contended Ford knew what had happened to Lang and helped her family search for her instead of telling her parents she was dead.
Lang’s family members spoke in court while wearing green shirts with her photos on them.
“I’m a father that’s still grieving,” Torrey Lang said. “She didn’t deserve to die. I don’t wish this type of pain on no parent.”
Judge Deborah Fluker then sentenced Ford to a total of 20 years, including 10 in prison and the remainder on probation. He will be credited for the time he has already served.
Tori Lang had often visited the park near Stone Mountain with her family. At about 6:30 a.m. on July 28, 2021, police responded after park visitors discovered the teen’s body during their morning walk, Gwinnett police previously said. The 2020 Stephenson High School graduate was found in a grassy field with an apparent gunshot wound.
To help identify her, Gwinnett police posted photos of her tattoos on social media. Lang’s devastated family confirmed it was her.
Days later, Lang’s burned-out Nissan Versa was discovered at DeKalb County’s Hidden Acres Nature Preserve, less than five miles from where she was killed, police said. A park ranger found the compact sedan, which authorities said had been set on fire and then rolled or pushed into the woods.
In April 2022, police charged Ford, of Lithonia, with murder and other offenses. At the time, he was in the Clayton County jail on unrelated charges. He was booked into the Gwinnett jail on June 9, booking records show.
Ford was indicted in September 2022 on charges of murder, aggravated assault, voluntary manslaughter, two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, two counts of theft by taking and tampering with evidence.
In a separate hearing following Ford’s sentencing, his mother was found guilty of indirect criminal contempt of court. Sheila Holley told the court she used her cellphone to take a picture of jurors who had been falling asleep during the recent trial. She was sentenced to serve three days in the Gwinnett jail.
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