Murderer who in 2005 left dead girlfriend's body beside her infant daughter seeks new trial

A murderer who left his dead girlfriend lying in a puddle of blood beside her infant daughter in 2005 has been returned to Columbus to seek a new trial.

Once a resident of Gulfport, Miss., Antonio Jerome Magee was convicted in 2008 of gunning down 24-year-old Mary Rodgers in 110-A E.J. Knight Gardens Apartments, 3811 Baker Plaza Drive, where Rodgers had been living for about two weeks.

With her 3-month-old daughter Rodgers had fled Biloxi, Miss., to escape Hurricane Katrina. Having come to Columbus to be with a sister stationed at Fort Benning, she decided to stay here because the storm destroyed her Biloxi home.

Magee, then 26, also moved here, though Rodgers’ family later said she was trying to end their relationship.

A neighbor saw Magee and Rodgers enter her apartment with the baby about 1 a.m. Nov. 16, 2005. Relatives visiting that afternoon found Rodgers’ body just inside the door, with the baby, unharmed, lying beside her dead mother on an air mattress. Shot three times, Rodgers was pronounced dead at 1:40 p.m., though authorities believed she was killed hours earlier.

Magee fled Columbus. U.S. Marshals arrested him Nov. 23 in Atlanta.

On April 25, 2008, Magee was convicted of murder and reckless conduct. Then-Superior Court Judge Robert Johnston III sentenced him to life in prison.This past Aug. 6, Magee was returned to the Muscogee County Jail from the Telfair State Prison in Helena.

He was to have a hearing on his new trial motion Tuesday before Superior Court Judge William Rumer, but attorney Bentley Adams III of the public defender’s office sought a postponement.

Rumer reset the hearing for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 12, in his order stating Magee is to remain in the county jail until further notice.

Adams said he is referring Magee’s case to the state public defenders council, anticipating it will appoint another attorney to represent Magee as his appeals move to higher courts.

Magee has been incarcerated in the state prison system since May 20, 2008, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

This story was originally published August 13, 2013 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Murderer who in 2005 left dead girlfriend's body beside her infant daughter seeks new trial."