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.

The prosecution, led by District Attorney Julia Slater with the aid of Senior Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly and Assistant District Attorney Wesley Lambertus, counters that the information the defense seeks is not covered under law governing pretrial discovery, and must be obtained by other means, such an open-records request.

Judge Rumer has asked both sides to file proposed court motions and any legal arguments by Monday, saying he will rule later.

The case had been delayed before. It was set to go to trial in late January, but had to be postponed because some of the same attorneys were involved in another prominent case coming to trial in Judge Gil McBride’s court, the brutal murders of a grandmother, son and granddaughter, found dead Jan. 4, 2016, in Columbus’ Upatoi area.

In that case, Rufus Burks, Raheam Gibson and Jervarceay Tapley were charged in the slayings of Gloria Short, 54; her son Caleb Short, 17; and granddaughter Gianna Lindsey, 10; found dead in the Shorts’ 3057 Bentley Drive home. Police said Gloria Short and her granddaughter were beaten and stabbed to death, and the son was fatally bludgeoned.

After Gibson and Tapley agreed to plead guilty, only Burks went to trial. He was found guilty of felony murder and other charges.

Conner is accused of fatally stabbing girlfriend Rosella “Mandy” Mitchell, 32, and killing their 6-month-old son Dylan Ethan Conner before setting their 1324 Winifred Lane home afire on Aug. 21, 2014.

Attorneys in a series of court hearings in the years since have been arguing about the evidence, most recently debating which photographs the jury should see. Shelnutt and Kendrick say some of the images are so graphic they only will prejudice the jury against their client.

During a hearing on July 6, the defense had narrowed its objections to 18 of the 144 photos related to the case, two showing the charred bodies at the crime scene.

A new motion

Now Shelnutt and Kendrick argue they need more time because the crime lab has not provided information on its administrative procedures, data a defense expert needs to review to judge the lab’s performance.

In a hearing Tuesday, Shelnutt outlined some of the information they want:

▪ Administrative documentation, meaning all documents related to anyone who worked on the Conner case, and noting any variance in crime-lab procedures.

▪ Any corrective action reports noting unexpected test results, any reports that were amended for reasons other than typographical errors or other minor issues, and any reports on the reliability of test results.

▪ The laboratory’s accreditation documentation related to the quality of its management.

▪ Laboratory personnel reports regarding disciplinary actions or other issues.

▪ Reports related to quality control, including qualifying tests on equipment, studies, and the “performance parameters” of the lab’s DNA testing.

The defense expert will need all of that information, and sufficient time to review it, to assist the attorneys in defending Conner, Shelnutt said.

“This is not discovery,” Kelly told Rumer, arguing the courts have ruled a crime lab’s internal documentation related to its operation is not subject the law on disclosing prosecution evidence, and the district attorney’s office does not collect or maintain such records.

The defense is supposed to get that information on its own, Kelly said.

“The answer to this is they need to file an Open Records Act request with the GBI,” Kelly said. The act covers all government records subject to public disclosure on demand.

The prosecution is opposed to any further delay, Kelly said, noting the trial date still is six weeks away.

The evidence

The fire at Mitchell’s Winifred Lane home was reported at 12:35 a.m. About 30 minutes later, Officer Jason Swails saw Conner’s blue 2001 BMW turn from Wynnton Road onto Cedar Avenue in midtown before Conner parked near Davis Broadcasting, where he worked. Conner then sat in the car for 10 minutes, the officer said.

Because of recent business burglaries in the area, Swails questioned Conner and saw the suspect was shaking and sweating, and apparently had blood on him, the officer said.

Conner told Swails he had just left work, which Swails didn’t believe because he’d seen Conner turn off Wynnton Road and park. Conner then altered his story, claiming he’d left work to get some food, but changed his mind and returned, Swails said.

Swails arrested Conner for breaking a city law against lying to police. Because police routinely search suspects being detained, officers checked Conner’s pockets, and found a bloody, yellow dishwashing glove, a bloody baby wipe, a cigarette lighter and an extended grill lighter.

Learning of the bodies found on Winifred Lane, they had Conner’s BMW impounded, and got a warrant to search it. Inside they found a bag of bloody clothes, a bottle of bleach and a bent steak knife with blood on the handle, they said.

Rumer on Sept. 20, 2016 and June 14, 2017, denied defense motions challenging the search and seizure of evidence against Conner.

Arson investigators in 2014 searched the burned home with a dog that alerted to flammable liquids poured in three places. They also found a gas can stored in a closet. An autopsy revealed Mitchell was stabbed multiple times in the throat and torso. Authorities have not said how the infant died.

On April 14, 2015, a grand jury indicted Conner for murder, aggravated battery, first-degree arson and using a knife to commit a crime. Six days later, Slater filed notice she would seek the death penalty.

Conner’s is the second case in which she has sought the death penalty since taking office in 2009. The first was the fatal shooting of local radio disc jockey Heath Jackson during a burglary at his Carter Avenue home on Sept. 7, 2010.

In May 2013, defendant Ricardo Strozier pleaded guilty to Jackson’s homicide and a string of related crimes. Judge Gil McBride sentenced him to life in prison without parole.