Jury selection begins Monday for the murder trial of Victoria Rickman, an East Atlanta woman accused of shooting her ex-fiancé in the back at least 10 times.
Rickman's case, which was once featured in a TV show on Investigation Discovery, has drawn attention for her defense: she told police she killed William Carter, Jr., on Sept. 13, 2013, because he'd raped her and she feared he was coming back for more.
Also, the murder weapon belonged to a Cobb County sheriff's deputy, who was reportedly a friend of Rickman. The deputy was fired after refusing to cooperate with investigators, authorities have said.
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The shooting happened at Rickman's DeKalb County home on Clifton Road, in a part of the city of Atlanta that's outside of Fulton County.
Authorities acknowledged the volatile relationship between Rickman and Carter — both have been charged with attacking the other — but investigators don't believe Rickman was justified.
A prosecutor said in a 2013 bond hearing there was "no evidence whatsoever that this has anything to do with anything other than Ms. Rickman loading a gun, shooting and killing William Carter, reloading that gun and continuing to shoot Mr. Carter."
Sympathy for Rickman has led to an online petition and Facebook page demanding "justice" for her.
Rickman has remained in jail without bond.
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