Murder trial begins for ex-APD officer

The murder trial of a former Atlanta police officer accused of the 2014 killing of a woman began Thursday.

Tahreem Rana was indicted for fatally shooting 26-year-old Vernecia Woodard, then setting her body on fire in Hapeville, Fulton County district attorney spokesman Dontaye Carter said.

Woodard’s body was found Aug. 22, officials said. Rana was arrested a few days later by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents while awaiting a flight to Mexico, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. He has been in the Fulton County jail without bond since his arrest.

The former officer had contacted Woodard, who had an 8-year-old daughter, via Craigslist for sex, Channel 2 Action News reported. Rana was linked to the crime by the victim’s cellphone records, according to Hapeville police Chief Richard Glavosek.

Rana faces charges of murder, felony murder, tampering with evidence, concealing the death of another, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, arson of land, and four counts of violation of office, Carter said.

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