Easter crash trial | Timeline of the events involving Aimee Michael
Sunday, April 12, 2009
1:45 p.m.: A 2005 Mercedes and a 1998 BMW collide on Camp Creek Parkway. Both vehicles cross the center line, and the Mercedes slams head-on into a 2006 Volkswagen Beetle driven by Tracie Johnson, 43. A Honda Accord, driven by Angela Kilpatrick of Powder Springs, was also hit.
Kilpatrick and her two children, ages 10 and 6, escaped uninjured.
Those killed in the Mercedes include an Atlanta family of four: Robert Carter, 39, Delisia Carter, 37, their 9-year-old daughter Kayla Lemons and 2-month-old son Ethan Carter. Johnson survived the crash, but her 6-year-old daughter Morgan did not. Police search for the driver of the BMW.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
A memorial service is held for the four family members at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
10:45 a.m.: Fulton police receive an anonymous tip that a gold/tan colored BMW 740 series is at the Michael family's Ailey Avenue home in the Walden Park subdivision south of Atlanta. Two officers respond. One of the officers reports that he notices a "strong odor of paint" as well as new parts on the bumper and wheel of a gold BMW in the driveway. The officer checked underneath the BMW and reported that all of the pieces that were recovered from the accident scene were missing from the vehicle. Officers obtained a search warrant.
3 p.m.: SWAT arrives and surrounds the Ailey Avenue home. Police enter, but find no one home. A neighbor says she saw three women who live in the home driving in the neighborhood and says they made a quick U-turn after seeing police.
6:45 p.m.: A Ford Expedition pulls into the garage at the Michaels' home. Fulton police officers rush in. In the car, according to police, are Aimee Michael, Aimee's mother Sheila Michael and Sheila's mother, who was not named. They sit in the dining room while police search the house.
After 7 p.m.: Police leave the home with three women, taking them to the Fulton major crimes unit.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
12:11 a.m.: Aimee Michael, 22, begins a 2 1/2 hour police interview, according to testimony from the officer who interviewed her. An hour into it, the investigator confronts her with the evidence, according to a video of the interview. She cries and admits she was in the crash and fled.
3:30 a.m.: Aimee Michael is retained. The other two women -- her grandmother and her mother -- are released.
Early: Aimee Michael is arrested and charged.
10 a.m.: Fulton County police detective Melissa Parker says Michael was on an errand to get cake and ice cream when the accident occurred.
11 a.m.: Judge James Altman denies a request from Michael's attorney that she be granted bond.
Monday, April 27, 2009
1 p.m.: In a service at Fellowship of Faith Church International in East Point, hundreds of family members, classmates, teachers and friends said goodbye to Morgan Johnson, the 6-year-old who died in the Volkswagen.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
5 p.m.: Fulton County Police accuse Sheila Michael of helping her daughter conceal the deadly wreck. She is charged with obstruction and evidence tampering.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
4:30 p.m.: A Fulton County grand jury indicts Aimee Michael on five counts of vehicular homicide, one count of serious injury by vehicle and six counts of hit and run, all felonies. She also is indicted on misdemeanor counts of reckless driving, tampering with evidence and failure to maintain lane . Mother Sheila Michael is indicted on charges of tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension of a criminal.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks granted Aimee Michael a $150,000 bond but orders her to not leave her South Fulton home upon her release. The judge also granted a $50,000 bond for Sheila Michael, charged with helping her daughter conceal the crash. Sheila Michael was processed out of the jail late Thursday night but a last minute issue with Aimee's bond resulted in her spending another night in jail.
Monday, Oct. 18, 2010
Sheila Michael pleads guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering the apprehension of a criminal.
Wednesday, Oct. 20
The trial of Aimee Michael begins.
Wednesday, Oct. 27
Closing arguments in the Aimee Michael trial. The jury begins deliberations.
Monday, Nov. 1
Aimee Michael jury returns verdict: guilty on all counts.
Monday, Nov. 1
Aimee Michael immediately taken into custody. Judge sets sentencing for 9 a.m. Thursday.
SOURCES: Fulton County incident and investigation reports, Fulton County Superior Court indictment, testimony and evidence at trial.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
