GUILTY GA - Leslyan Williams, 49, found dismembered, Newton County, 29 Oct 2007

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COVINGTON, Ga. — Investigators were still searching Wednesday for body parts of a slain woman whose dismembered body was discovered after a dog took a severed human foot back to his yard.

"We are still looking for the rest of the remains," said Newton County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Bill Watterson

~snip~

The foot was found in a heavily wooded, sparsely populated portion of Newton County off of Georgia Highway 212. Teams of investigators later Tuesday found half of the body of a woman.

Watterson said there have been no missing person reports fitting the woman's description.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306757,00.html
 
Fighting Dogs Lead to Human Remains

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=55097

Newton County, GA (WXIA) - Dogs that were fighting over an object in the darkness led a woman to the discovery of body parts in an area along Georgia Highway 212 in Newton County early Tuesday morning.
The woman called police and, after daybreak, the authorities sent out a search team and discovered even more human remains behind a vacant home. The remains had not decomposed, leading investigators to believe they were recently scattered in the area.
The homeowner said she came home from work and found her dogs fighting in her back yard over what turned out to be a human foot.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was also on the scene with Newton County sheriff's deputies. The body parts are being analyzed at the GBI crime lab.
 
Body parts of woman found in Newton


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2007/10/31/bodyparts1031.html

A Newton County woman, returning home from work early Tuesday morning, walked outside to check on the commotion her dogs were creating and found one of them with a severed foot in its mouth, authorities said.
The 3 a.m. discovery set off a daylong hunt in the heavily wooded, sparsely populated portion of the county, south of Covington. By evening, authorities found other remains —- about half of the body of a woman —- scattered over a 100-yard area behind a vacant house off Ga. 212 and Island Shoals Road, said Coroner Bob Wheeler.

Authorities will return to the area today.
The remains appear to be those of a petite white or Hispanic woman, said sheriff's Lt. Bill Watterson. The woman is believed to have been killed a day earlier, authorities said.
The county has not had a person matching that description reported missing in the area.
 
http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=106264

Remains Identified, Man Charged

The Newton County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations have identified the remains of a person found in Newton County on October 30, and are charging a man with murder in the case.

According to a news release issued by the GBI Sunday evening, the remains have been identified as those of Leslyan Williams of Decatur. The remains were reportedly identified using fingerprints. The body’s head and torso are still missing.

Williams boyfriend, Franklin Benson, 47, was arrested Sunday and will be charged with murder, the release said. He is being held in the Newton County Jail.

A woman in Newton County reported the discovery of the remains after her dog brought her a human foot.

The investigation into this matter is continuing and anyone with information on either Williams or Benson is asked to call the GBI Tip Line at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).
 
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2007/11/11/remains_1112.html

Published on: 11/11/07

*snip
The severed foot that a Newton County resident found her dogs fighting over last month belonged to a mis of the victim's boyfriend. Leslyan Williams, 49, was reported missing by out-of-state family members about the time human body parts were found in a heavily wooded and sparsely populated portion of Newton County south of Covington.
 
I can't get the ajc links to open but here are some working links confirming the ID:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/georgia/news-article.aspx?storyid=95512


COVINGTON, GA (AP) -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation today identified the dismembered body of a woman found in Newton County October 30th as 49-year-old Leslyan Williams of Decatur.

The Newton County Sheriff's Office arrested her boyfriend, 47-year-old Franklin Benson, and accused him of murder.

http://www.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,67862954_67866877_97300063,00.html


Newton County Remains
Sunday, November 11, 2007 Contact: John Bankhead 404-270-8330

DECATUR – The Newton County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have identified the remains found in Newton County on October 30 as those of 49 year-old Leslyan Williams of Decatur. Williams, whose head and torso are still missing, was identified by fingerprints.

Williams’ boyfriend, Franklin Benson, 47, was arrested today and has been charged in connection with the death of Ms. Williams.


http://www.covnews.com/archives/9333/
October 16 2009
Trial begins for Franklin Benson
Accused of dismembering woman

...
In opening statements, Chief Assistant District Attorney Layla Zon told jurors that Williams had come to Georgia from Michigan for a better life in the late 90s.

"She thought Franklin loved her," she said. "He killed her, dismembered her body and tossed and dumped her remains in Newton County… Before we dehumanize her, let’s remember who this woman was before he barbarously cut her up and left her in the woods for a dog to find the day before Halloween."

...

Although he reportedly lived, at least part-time, with Williams, he did not report her missing. A family member of Williams called the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and filed a missing persons report. He also said on the tape that she did not currently have a job but made her money by selling drugs. Williams’ son was asked if he ever knew his mother to sell drugs when he first took the stand and he said that he had no knowledge of his mother being involved in that activity.

Griffin told jurors that while he didn’t go into the interview suspecting Benson, he began to as the conversation wore on. He said that Benson was "theatrical" and that he was so sure the victim was Williams that it began to raise his suspicions, although under cross examination, he admitted that people react differently to situations.

Zon questioned Griffin once more before he left the stand.

"What tense did he refer to her," she asked Griffin, of the interview with Benson.

"In the past tense," he replied.


He was found guilty but requested a new trial in the fall of 2010.

http://www.covnews.com/archives/9406/preview/
http://www.covnews.com/archives/14807/preview/
 

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