Judge sets date for Upatoi triple murder trial

The trial of three young men charged in the brutal Jan. 4, 2016, homicides of a grandmother, son and granddaughter in Columbus’ Upatoi neighborhood could be in September, a judge said Tuesday.

Superior Court Judge Gil McBride held a hearing Tuesday to update the status of the triple murder case against Rufus Lanard Burks, Raheam Daniel Gibson and Jervarceay Tapley, charged in the deaths of Gloria Short, 54; her son, Caleb Short, 17; and granddaughter, Gianna Lindsey, 10, found dead in Short’s Bentley Drive home.

Gloria Short’s husband, Robert Short Sr., a nurse, found the bodies about 8 a.m. that Monday when he got home from working a night shift at a local hospital. Authorities said the wife and granddaughter both were beaten and stabbed to death, and the son fatally bludgeoned. The suspects robbed the family of clothing, coins and two vehicles that later were found abandoned, police said.

Judge McBride tentatively set the trial for Sept. 12, with jury selection to begin at 9 a.m. He told attorneys Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 also were available, should the case be delayed.

He set Aug. 16 and 17 for pretrial hearings, during which he’ll hear Burks’ attorney Jennifer Curry argue for a change of venue, among other motions.

Curry also has asked that her client undergo a mental evaluation at West Central Georgia Regional Hospital. McBride already has approved that, but the hospital asked for additional information before starting Burks’ interviews.

Gibson’s attorney William Kendrick had his client evaluated, too. That evaluation was completed May 16, but a final report has not been submitted, he said.

One reason the case could be delayed is that such evaluations can take months, and attorneys may file additional motions based on the results. McBride asked attorneys to let him know by July 10 if they anticipate further delay.

Curry also has asked that her client’s case be severed from the others, so that he’s tried separately — another motion for the court to consider in August.

Tapley’s attorney Shevon Sutcliffe Thomas raised the issue of life sentences for defendants who are younger than 18 when they commit crimes, noting U.S. Supreme Court rulings have held that like the death penalty, a life sentence for an underage defendant constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

That leaves the question of whether a sentence of life with parole, in Georgia requiring a convict to serve 30 years before being eligible for release, essentially would be a life sentence if a judge gave a defendant three such sentences to serve consecutively, totaling 90 years, Thomas said.

Such a sentence is possible in this case because each defendant is accused of murdering three people and could get a sentence of life with parole for each victim.

McBride said he believed that would be an issue for attorneys to argue in court, based on their reading of higher court rulings. By law he is prohibited from issuing any sort of advisory opinion on the matter, he said.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Judge sets date for Upatoi triple murder trial."