GA - Mandy Mitchell, 32, & Dylan Conner, 6 mos, murdered, Columbus, 21 Aug 2014

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http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/09/22/3315868/brandon-conner-denied-bond-in.html

Brandon Conner was arrested on Aug. 21 less than an hour after firefighters first pulled the charred bodies of 32-year-old Rosella “Rose” Mitchell and her 6-month-old son Dylan Conner from the 1324 Winifred Lane home.

An officer watched Conner sit idly at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Wynnton Road for about 10 minutes before finally approaching him. Inside the 2001 BMW 740iL, police found Conner bloodied, sweating and nervous... When the officer asked about the state of Conner's clothes, Conner told police he was returning from work. He did not explain where the blood came from.

Investigators later found other bloodstained clothes and a large serrated knife inside the vehicle, Kelly said.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/12/16/3471012/boyfriend-gets-bond-in-deaths.html

Muscogee Coroner Buddy Bryan said a crime lab examination showed Mitchell was stabbed repeatedly in the neck and torso. The lab later reported the child also suffered traumatic injury before the blaze, Bryan said.

Firefighters found the two face-down in a back bedroom of the house after extinguishing the fire, shortly after 12:30 a.m.
 
Court to rule on evidence in capital murder case involving deaths of mother, infant
Suspecting arson, local investigators the previous Aug. 21 had collected five items of evidence they thought might reveal a flammable liquid was used to start the blaze, but no dog trained to sniff out such evidence was available then.

Testifying Wednesday in a pretrial hearing for accused killer Brandon Conner, who was Mitchell’s boyfriend and Dylan’s father, Columbus fire Sgt. Lance Christenson said local authorities tried to find a Georgia dog trained for the task, but the two dogs usually available in the state were in Maine for training.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives then sought help from Alabama, and Cumby was ordered to load Andy up and head to Columbus.

Cumby testified Wednesday that he first checked the fire scene to ensure Andy safely could negotiate it, then brought in the dog that alerts to the scent of accelerants like gasoline by staring at the source with his nose to it, then sitting down.

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Conner’s defense team of J. Mark Shelnutt and William Kendrick argued the dog’s alerting to such evidence is not “scientifically verifiable,” and thus the evidence should not be admitted at trial.

The issue is among a series of court motions now before Judge William Rumer as attorneys prepare for Conner’s murder trial, in which District Attorney Julia Slater intends to pursue the death penalty. The hearings are expected to continue today and possibly Friday
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/latest-news/article74282692.html
 
CPD body cam footage of alleged killer's arrest
During a preliminary motions hearing on Thursday, the District Attorney's office presented officer body cam footage of the moments before a Columbus man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and infant son was arrested.

(...)

In the footage presented during motion hearings, you can hear the conversation between the officer and Conner:

Officer: Do you have a kid?
Defendant: Yea
Officer: You do? How many?
Defendant: Two for sure, and one not for sure.

(...)

Officers who arrested Conner testified Thursday that they found a yellow dishwashing glove dripping with blood in the backseat of Conner's BMW, along with a cigarette lighter and baby wipe with blood on it.
http://www.wtvm.com/story/31844223/exclusive-cpd-body-cam-footage-of-alleged-killers-arrest
 
Officers recall first encounter with double-murder suspect
It was nearing 1 a.m. on Aug. 21, 2014, as a Columbus police officer sat and stared for about 10 minutes at Brandon Conner’s blue 2001 BMW, which was illegally parked more than a foot from the curb on Cedar Avenue near Davis Broadcasting.

(...)

Conner would not give them permission to search his car, but what they saw inside and found in his pockets alarmed them. Conner appeared to have blood on his face, and in his pocket was a rubber glove that looked like blood was on it, too, they said.

He also had a long lighter made for igniting fireplaces and grills, and a shorter, regular cigarette lighter.

The officers thought they saw some bleach in the car, and some clothes stuffed in plastic bags.

(...) Though they knew a house fire had been reported at 12:35 a.m. at 1324 Winifred Lane, they did not know — though they soon would learn — that in the burned home firefighters found two bodies, later to be identified as Conner’s 32-year-old girlfriend Rosella “Mandy” Mitchell and their 6-month-old son, Dylan Conner
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/latest-news/article74730982.html
 
September 2017:

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article174207106.html

The Columbus man facing the death penalty in the 2014 homicides of his girlfriend and infant son could go to trial this coming January, a judge decided Tuesday.

In discussions with the defense and prosecution, Judge William Rumer suggested Brandon David Conner’s trial be scheduled for Jan. 22 or Jan. 29, 2018.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly said the trial could take four weeks – one week to pick a jury and three to try the case, including a sentencing phase for jurors to decide whether the death penalty would be justified, were Conner found guilty.
 
Hearing in Muscogee County death penalty case scheduled for July 10

A man accused of murdering his girlfriend and infant son, then setting their home on fire to hide the crime, is set to appear in court for a hearing Tuesday, July 10.

In a hearing Friday, July 6, the defense of Brandon Conner argued against permitting a jury to see certain, graphic autopsy and evidence photos showing the charred bodies of 32-year-old Rosella "Mandy" Mitchell and 6-month-old Dylan Ethan Conner.

Judge William Rumer gave the prosecution and defense until Tuesday to argue their side.
 
Defense asks to delay capital trial of man accused of killing girlfriend, infant son
The trial in Columbus’ only pending death-penalty case could be delayed again.

Accused of killing his girlfriend and their infant son before setting their home afire in 2014, Brandon David Conner so far is set for trial Oct. 1 before Superior Court Judge William Rumer, but his attorneys have asked for that to be postponed.

Attorneys J. Mark Shelnutt and William Kendrick say they have not received crucial discovery evidence related to quality control and other administrative procedures at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab conducting DNA tests for the prosecution.
 
From last month:

Change in defense postpones Columbus death-penalty trial until 2019

The Columbus death-penalty trial once set for Oct. 1 now is postponed until next year.

After Brandon David Conner’s private lawyers argued Monday that their client is out of money and needs a state-funded defense team, Superior Court Judge William Rumer ordered the case removed from his October docket and set the next hearing for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 14.

The Georgia Office of the Capital Defender will take over Conner’s representation, though one of his two private attorneys, Mark Shelnutt, may remain on the defense team to facilitate the transition and offer advice.​
 

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