The suspects accused in the death of Clark Atlanta University student Alexis Crawford told police in gruesome detail how the victim died, according to a detective who testified Friday.
Barron Brantley, 21, who is charged with murder, told police he choked Crawford on Oct. 31 after she got into a fight with his girlfriend, Jordyn Jones, 21, Atlanta Police Department Detective Mike Young testified. Jones was Crawford’s roommate in off-campus housing.
“He admitted to choking Ms. Crawford,” Young said during a hearing in Fulton County Magistrate Court. “While he was choking Ms. Crawford, Ms. Jones put a plastic bag over her head.”
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
Young’s testimony painted the clearest picture yet of the evidence against the suspects in a case that has shaken Clark Atlanta, one of the three historically black institutions that make up Atlanta University Center.
The detective said the suspects explained how they placed Crawford’s body into a large plastic bin. Brantley said he knew Crawford was dead because her “sounds of agony” had subsided. They took the bin to Exchange Park in DeKalb County and left it around 4 a.m., Young said.
» PHOTOS: Suspect in Alexis Crawford's murder appears in court
The suspects went back to the apartment, where Brantley cleaned up blood from the living room, Young testified. Afterward, they went to a Halloween party.
Crawford, who was from Athens, was honored by hundreds at a recent candlelight vigil at Clark Atlanta.
“You all have lifted one another up, and I know that you will continue to do that,” University President George French said at the somber event. “Her light shall never go out.”
It isn’t clear what started the fight that led to Crawford’s death. Young testified that Jones claimed she couldn’t remember because she had been drunk.
A few days before Crawford was killed, she went to the Morehouse College homecoming with Brantley and Jones. All three were drinking. Jones decided to lie down for a while and later found Brantley in the bathroom with Crawford. When Brantley came out of the bathroom, he said, “I didn’t touch her, I didn’t rape her,” Young testified.
Crawford went to the hospital for a rape kit examination. At a Thursday bond hearing, prosecutors said that Brantley's DNA was discovered.
After hearing Young’s testimony, the court found probable cause for the murder charges against Brantley to proceed. Jones, who is also charged with murder, had been set to appear on her charges. Her attorney asked for her hearing to be postponed.
The suspects are being held in the Fulton County jail without bond.
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
About the Author
