TRIAL--RAPE/ MURDER OF CHRISTOPHER BARRIOS JR. AGE 6

[rumaj]

High-profile murder cases on trial in 2009

Heading the list: The Edenfield family will be tried in the death of a boy at a mobile home park in Brunswick.

* By Teresa Stepzinski
* Story updated at 11:45 PM on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009


BRUNSWICK - The first of three family members charged with the sexual abuse slaying of 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. could stand trial this year, prosecutors said.

David Edenfield, 59, of Brunswick faces the death penalty if convicted of malice murder in the killing almost two years ago.

District Attorney Stephen Kelley wants to bring Edenfield to trial in late summer or fall. Edenfield's son, George, a convicted child molester, also faces the death penalty in the slaying. George Edenfield, 33, could face a special civil trial by the end of the year to determine if he is mentally competent to be tried on the criminal charges, Kelley said.

No date has been set for David or George Edenfield. Nor has a trial date been set for Peggy Edenfield, 57, who faces a life sentence in the killing. She is married to David Edenfield and is George Edenfield's mother.

The Edenfields top the list of high-profile Southeast Georgia homicide cases expected to be tried this year in the adjacent Brunswick and Waycross judicial circuits. Between them, the judicial circuits encompass 11 counties.

Brunswick circuit

The five-county Brunswick circuit had 25 homicide cases awaiting trial as of Friday. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in at least seven of those cases, Kelley said.

None is bigger than those for the accused killers of Christopher Barrios Jr., a case that drew national attention.

The boy was killed March 8, 2007. His body was discovered a week later inside a black plastic trash bag hidden in woods about 2 miles from the Canal Mobile Home Park where he lived.

The three Edenfields were the Barrios family's neighbors. They remain jailed without bail on malice murder, kidnapping and child molestation charges.

Peggy Edenfield has agreed to testify against her husband and son in exchange for prosecutors not asking that she get the death penalty.

Kelley expects pretrial hearings in David Edenfield's case to resume within a couple months. It's been slow going, he said, because of the legal procedures mandated by Georgia's death penalty law.

"It's all time-consuming, but it's part of Georgia's death penalty process," he said.

Nonetheless, Kelley wants to try one homicide case a month in the circuit. But that might not be possible because state budget cuts have forced prosecutors to furlough employees one day each month. Further bogging down the trial docket, the budget cuts also eliminated senior judges. The retired judges continue to try cases and help reduce overloaded dockets.

Two other circuit death penalty cases may be tried by the end of the year, he said.

In Wayne County, Bobby Rex Stribling, a 46-year-old career felon, is charged with beating to death Judge Glenn Thomas Jr., 74, in 2007. Thomas, a former district attorney, was attacked June 25, 2007 during a robbery at his Jesup law office and died July 9, 2007 while hospitalized for his injuries.

In Glynn County, David Lane Campbell, 27, is charged with the beating death of Marshall Allen, a well-known 58-year-old musician, at his Three Oaks Lane home in 2007.

In addition, Kelley is considering seeking the death penalty in several other cases, including three homicides last year in Camden County.

Those defendants are: Tye Christopher Watkins, 22, charged with gunning down his parents, T.J. and Cindy Watkins, at their St. Marys home; Amos Southall, 27, charged with killing Michelle Hainley, 21, of Yulee at a Kingsland motel; and Larry Nathaniel Harris Sr., 43, charged with the execution-style slayings of Commie Lee Spead, 48, and Jerry Lewis Williams, 52, both of Kingsland.

"The problem is, the case may initially fit death penalty criteria but the evidence has to support it. Most jurors on a death penalty case basically want evidence beyond all doubt, not just beyond a reasonable doubt, which is what the law requires," Kelley said.

Waycross circuit

Betty Jo Jacobs is among the defendants in six homicide cases who could stand trial this year in the Waycross Judicial Circuit, which includes Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce and Ware counties.

None is a death penalty case.

Jacobs, 67, is charged with killing her former husband, L. Davis Jacobs, 68 of Waycross on Aug. 24, 2007. The well-known ophthalmologist was gunned down in his medical office near Satilla Regional Medical Center in Waycross as patients waited for their appointments with him.

"We're looking at possibly trying it in February, but that's not been finalized," District Attorney Rick Currie told the Times-Union.

If convicted, Jacobs faces a life sentence. Her attorneys have asserted that Jacobs suffered from battered person syndrome when she killed her ex-husband.

In Pierce County, Archie Edward Bennett Jr., 67, is charged with murder and arson in last year's shooting death of his former wife, Shirley Dial Bennett, whose home was set on fire. He could stand trial in May or December when the court holds criminal trial weeks, Currie said.

The other four homicide cases are divided among Bacon, Brantley, Charlton and Ware counties, court records show.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[The Real Suspect Zero]

Good afternoon, rumaj.

The story you posted concening little Christopher Barrios Jr., was profundly saddening.

Even though I have researched many cases of depraved murders over the years, I still cannot fathom the level of depravity a human being can plunge in order to fulfill such horribly sick and selfish needs, especially when the victim is a defenseless child.
When I took a look at these people's photographs, it just made me ill.
They have the appearance of, simply, inbred white trash to me.

I have a close friend who lives in Brunswick and has lived there for many years.
He used to manage the Jekyll Island Golf Course-Club.
But I have not heard from him in a few years, he may have passed away as he was a middle-aged man.

I have been to Brunswick on a good number of occasions to visit and it seemed such a neat and quiet little town.
A safe place to bring up one's children.

I am so sorry to hear about this little boy's murder.
Especially at the hands of such truly evil people, the Edenfield's.
If there truly is a place for sinners, for evil people to spend an eternity, then I pray these people go there.

My prayers go out to this child's family, for little Christopher, and to the community of Brunswick.

Chris
_________________
It's best you don't know what's going to happen next.

[rumaj]

The last I read, one of the hold ups is that a judge retired, and so they're playing court house shuffle by re-scheduling trials.

I believe it also mentioned funding as well.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Accused child-killer to be tried here

2/7/2009
By MARY STARR

The Brunswick News

Defense attorney James Yancey has a trial date for one of the men accused of killing a 6-year-old Brunswick boy almost two years ago, but now he is wondering if he will have the money to defend David Edenfield.

Edenfield, his wife, Peggy Edenfield, and their adult son, George Edenfield, are accused in the March 8, 2007, aggravated molestation and strangling death of Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. in a mobile home park off Canal Road. David Edenfield is facing the death penalty for his alleged role in the murder.

Yancey and attorney John Beall IV, also defending David Edenfield, have won a partial victory in their request for a change of venue for the trial because they thought intense news coverage of the case would make it impossible to find an impartial jury in Glynn County: The jury they will participate in selecting will not come from Glynn County.

The men and women who will sit in judgment of David Edenfield will be selected from among potential jurors in Jeff Davis, about 80 miles northwest of Brunswick. The trial, however, will be held in Brunswick.

Glynn County Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett has set April 20 as the day jury selection is to begin in Jeff Davis County. Testimony is to begin two weeks later in Brunswick.

Jeff Davis County is the farthest county from Brunswick in the five-county Brunswick Judicial Circuitof Glynn, Camden, Wayne, Appling and Jeff Davis counties.

Yancey, an attorney in private practice who has been appointed by the court to represent Edenfield, is pleased with the judge's decision to bring the jury to Brunswick from out of town, but he fears the trial could be delayed. The reason: serious statewide shortfalls in Georgia's Indigent Defense Fund.

He needs to tap the fund in order to present an adequate defense, he said.

"Our concern is that we're trying to engage experts and they might not get paid," Yancey said. "This case entails specialized knowledge that attorneys don't have."

Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Stephen Kelley and John B. Johnson will present the state's case.

Kelley said Friday he has no problem with selecting a jury in Jeff Davis.

"They're trying to get a jury that hasn't received the media coverage about the case," Kelley said, explaining that the residents of Jeff Davis County get most of their news from Macon media outlets.

Kelley acknowledged that trials are expensive, but it makes good economic sense to empanel a jury from another location.

"Any jury trial has an associated cost," he said. "But it's certainly a lot cheaper to bring a jury here than to transport court personnel, attorneys and witnesses somewhere else."

Jurors, who will be sequestered during the process, will receive food, lodging and juror pay, which is about $35 per day. By being sequestered, they will be walled off from news coverage of the trial and public contacts.

Sequestration, Kelley said, is mandatory in death penalty cases when the defense attorney requests it.

"The expense of sequestering a jury is minimal compared to other issues that would cause us to have to retry a case," he said. "It's the best practice."

Scarlett set the trial date during a hearing Thursday in Brunswick. No trial dates have been set for Peggy Edenfield or George Edenfield.

Christopher's body was found two weeks after his disappearance in a trash bag along a road about a mile from his home in the mobile home park.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Slain child lives in memories

2/28/2009
By MARY STARR

The Brunswick News

Christopher Barrios would have had two more birthdays by now if he had not been kidnapped and killed in the Canal Road Mobile Home Park, where he lived with his father.

It's that passage of time that makes an upcoming celebration of Christopher's life a significant event for Sue Rodriguez, Christopher's grandmother, says.

"Even though Christopher's gone, he deserves a birthday," said Rodriguez. "His spirit is still alive, and I'm going to keep it alive."

Christopher's eighth birthday would have been Jan. 2, and Rodriguez said she wanted to do something then, but it was too close to the holidays and the weather wasn't agreeable.

Christopher, 6, disappeared March 8, 2007, and was found dead March 16, 2007, on the side of a road near his home, wrapped in plastic garbage bags.

Since then, three members of the Edenfield family - David Edenfield, his wife, Peggy Edenfield, and their adult son, George Edenfield - have been charged with murder and molestation and are awaiting trial. The state is seeking the death penalty for David Edenfield, whose trial is to begin by early May, and George Edenfield. Prosecutors dropped their request for a death penalty for Peggy Edenfield after she agreed to testify against her husband and.

Rodriguez said the celebration - a dinner March 28 at Comfort Inn and Suites - has been in the works for the past few months.

"Lots of people are coming in from out of town that we have met through this (tragedy)," Rodriguez said. "They just want to be there with us."

People from all over were touched by Christopher and in the circumstances surrounding his death, she said.

"They have big hearts," she said. "They love him like he's their own, but they never met him."

Rodriguez said it is people like those who help make the pain of losing Christopher bearable.

"You realize there are a lot of good people in the world," she said.

Shannon Briley, the celebration's organizer, is one of the good people Rodriguez likes to talk about. A law student and police officer from Jonesboro, Briley heard of Christopher's disappearance and death and said she was devastated.

"I have three children and my oldest is just a little younger than Christopher," she said. "Christopher's smile reminds me of my children."

Briley got involved with the Barrios family a year after Christopher's death because she couldn't stop thinking about them.

The celebration is also designed to raise awareness of Justice for Christopher, a group that hopes to advocate for stricter child molestation laws in Georgia.

Briley is working on starting a non-profit in Christopher's memory.

"I have filed paperwork for the Southeastern Childhood Preservation (in honor of Christopher Barrios), which has as its goals researching and following legislation that protects children and distributing information on child safety to low income communities," Briley said.

Rachael Stubblefield, an online acquaintance of Briley's and a resident of Wisconsin, was so moved by Christopher's story that she visited the Barrios family in Brunswick. Briley said Stubblefield's actions gave her the courage to meet Christopher's family.

Stubblefield is also one of the event's organizers.

Briley first met with the family in June 2008 and has since been in constant contact with them.

"They are like family to me," Briley said. "Sue (Rodriguez) is the grandmother I never had."

Briley attributes the idea of the celebration to Rodriguez, who wanted to do something for those who had helped the family.

"People grieve differently," Briley said. "Mike (Barrios, Christopher's father), is very guarded, but Sue needs the human contact and the reminder that people have not forgotten about her grandbaby."

Keeping Christopher's memory alive is important for many reasons, said Briley.

"You are never truly gone until you are forgotten," Briley said. "Rachael and I are going to make sure as long as we are alive Christopher will never be forgotten."

Briley tells of a boy who was tender and loved animals and superheroes.

"His life should be celebrated for who he was as an individual, not just defined by this tragedy," Briley said. "This is not supposed to be a night for sadness."

Christopher's cousin, Jessica Barrios, is also in on the planning, according to Briley.

Briley suggests that if people want to do something to honor Christopher's life that they do something kind like adopt a stray animal or simply be kind to others.

"Do something cheerful," Briley said.

The event

The Christopher Barrios Celebration will be from 6 to 9 p.m. March 28 at the Comfort Inn and Suites, 5308 New Jesup Highway, Glynn County. A catered meal of grilled and fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, sweet tea and lemonade will be served. There is no cost to attend the dinner; however, donations, to defray the cost will be accepted. The reservation deadline is March 14. Details: (404) 514-9112 or justiceforchristopher@gmail.com.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Christopher Barrios Murder Trial Delayed
Posted By: Joe Massa Created: 3/12/2009 11:00:35 AM Updated: 3/12/2009 11:27:55 AM

BRUNSWICK, GA (AP) -- A Glynn County judge is delaying the death penalty trial of a man charged with sexual assault and murder in the 2007 death of a 6-year-old Brunswick boy.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett ruled Wednesday that defense lawyers for suspected killer David Edenfield have not received adequate state funding to pay for experts and investigators in the case.

Scarlett had planned to start Edenfield's trial May 4, but now has pushed back jury selection to begin Sept. 8. Scarlett says state funds needed for Edenfield's defense should be available after the new fiscal year begins July 1.

Edenfield, along with his wife and adult son, are charged with the March 2007 slaying of young Christopher Michael Barrios.

=========================================
THIS IS REALLY TICKING ME OFF.........
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[The Real Suspect Zero]

You and me both, rumaj.

To hell with the bureaucratic justice system.

Chris
_________________
It's best you don't know what's going to happen next.

[rumaj]

Capital murder trial slated

7/7/2009
By MARY STARR The Brunswick News

One of three adults charged in the death of a 6-year-old Brunswick boy in 2007 is closer to having his day in court.

Jury selection in David Edenfield's capital murder trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8 in Hazlehurst, some 87 miles northwest of Brunswick.

And so far, that date is sticking.

"We're on schedule," Glynn County District Attorney Stephen Kelley said Monday.

David Edenfield, his wife, Peggy Edenfield, and son, George Edenfield, have been charged with the abduction, molestation and strangulation of Christopher Michael Barrios on March 8, 2007. No trial dates have been set for Peggy or George Edenfield.

Originally, jury selection for David Edenfield was to be held in March and the trial was on the calendar for April. But because of budget constraints facing the Georgia Indigent Defense Fund, Glynn County Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett issued an order delaying jury selection to September so that it could take place during the 2010 fiscal budget year, which began July 1.

Even with ongoing fiscal concerns, including the furlough of state employees, Kelley doesn't foresee any change. That includes traveling to Jeff Davis County to pick the pool of men and women who will determine the guilt or innocence of David Edenfield.

Hazelhurst is the county seat of Jeff Davis, one of the five counties that make up the Brunswick Judicial Circuit. The others are Glynn, Camden, Wayne and Appling counties.

"The judge has ordered that (jury selection) be held in Jeff Davis County," Kelley said.

The trial itself will be held in Superior Court in Glynn County.

James Yancey, a Brunswick attorney in private practice, and John A. Beal IV, who has offices in Jonesboro and Peachtree City, make up the legal defense team of David Edenfield. Because David Edenfield faces the death penalty, Georgia law requires him to have two attorneys.

Yancey and Beal were responsible for winning the change of venue in the jury selection part of the trial. They felt that the intense news coverage given the case would make it nearly impossible to find an impartial jury in Glynn County.

District Attorney Kelley said residents of Jeff Davis County get most of their news from Macon media outlets.

Kelley and assistant district attorney John B. Johnson will present the state's case.

Kelley previously told The News that he had no problem with empaneling a jury from Jeff Davis County in Glynn County, saying that it is more economical to bring a jury here than it is to transport court personnel, attorneys and witnesses somewhere else. In addition to their $35 per day juror pay, jurors will also receive food and lodging.

George Edenfield also faces the death penalty. Peggy Edenfield previously struck a plea agreement with prosecutors that guarantees she will not face the death penalty in exchange for her testimony against her son and husband.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

EVIDENCE OFFERED IN CHILD'S DEATH WILL BE 'DISGUSTING'
For the community, September could be the beginning of the end of 30 months of waiting - waiting for the first of the trials of three adults accused of molesting and murdering 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. March 8, 2007.


Edenfield Trial To Begin Next Month
Judge Rules Jury May Hear Defendant's Statement

POSTED: Thursday, August 27, 2009
UPDATED: 4:37 pm EDT August 27, 2009
3 Edenfields in court
BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- One of two men accused in the kidnapping, sexual assault and killing of a 6-year-old Glynn County boy in March 2007 will begin next month with a jury imported from another county.

David Edenfield, along with his wife, Peggy, and adult son, George, were charged after Christopher Barrios' body was found after a multi-day search. The father will be the first defendant to be tried.

Superior Court Judge Steven Scarlett on Wednesday denied defense motions to suppress Edenfield's statements to investigators and scheduled jury selection to begin Sept. 21 in Jeff Davis County, about 90 miles north of Brunswick. The jury will be brought to Glynn County for the trial.

Christopher was last seen March 8, 2007, in his Glynn County neighborhood.

His disappearance prompted a massive search, which ended when his body was found wrapped in trash bags and dumped near some woods. He had been assaulted, raped and killed.

Two years later, a memorial remains near the location where the child's body was found.

The judge had originally scheduled it for May, but pushed the trial back to September because of a lack of state funding to pay for Edenfield's defense.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against both David and George Edenfield, but not against the wife because of her willingness to testify for the state.

Previous Stories:

* August 14, 2009: Trial Delayed In Brunswick Boy's Slaying
* March 13, 2009: Christopher Barrios Remembered 2 Years After Slaying
* March 12, 2009: Money Crunch Delays Edenfield Murder Trial
* February 5, 2009: First Trial In Boy's Slaying Set
* August 29, 2008: David Edenfield Wants Murder, Molesting Charges Dismissed
* June 26, 2008: Man Pleads Guilty To Charges Connected To 6-Year-Old's Slaying
* June 9, 2008: Trial Set For Man Accused Of Hiding Boy's Body
* June 5, 2008: Suspect In Boy's Slaying Withdraws Plea
* March 14, 2008: Mother Sues State, Trailer Park Over Son's Death
* August 15, 2007: Judge Rules On Defense Motions In Boy's Murder Case
* July 30, 2007: Boy's Accused Killer In Court For Hearing
* April 13, 2007: Molester, His Parents Charged In Christopher's 'Horrific' Slaying
* March 21, 2007: As Slain Boy's Viewing Begins, 3 Charged With Murder
* March 19, 2007: Child Molester Got Probation Days Before Slain Boy Vanished
* March 17, 2007: Community Copes After Boy's Search Ends In Tragedy
* March 16, 2007: Missing Boy Found Dead; 4 May Face Murder Charges
* March 15, 2007: Body Of Missing Brunswick Boy Found
* March 15, 2007: New Search, More Evidence, But No Sign Of Missing Boy
* March 15, 2007: Police Search Pond, Follow New Tips In Missing Boy Case
* March 14, 2007: 2nd Search Warrant Executed At Sex Offender's Home
* March 14, 2007: Sex Offender, Offender's Mother Arrested In Boy's Disappearance
* March 13, 2007: Police Search Sex Offender's Trailer In Hunt For Missing 6-Year-Old
* March 12, 2007: After 4 Days, Police Believe Georgia Boy Was Abducted
* March 11, 2007: $27,000 Reward Offered For Missing Georgia Boy
* March 10, 2007: Searchers, Family Determined To Find Missing 6-Year-Old
* March 9, 2007: After 24 Hours, No Sign Of Missing Georgia Boy
http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/20584590/detail.html
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Judge orders psych evaluation

9/16/2009
By MARY STARR
The Brunswick News

A pre-trial psychiatric examination of a man accused of molesting and killing a kindergarten child two years ago is not expected to delay the start of jury selection Monday for a trial that could then begin within weeks.

Stephen Kelley, district attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, asked for an evaluation of David Edenfield, who will stand trial for his alleged role in the murder of 6-year-old Christopher Barrios Jr. in March 2007, after Edenfield's lawyers raised the possibility that they may raise an issue of his mental state at trial.

Glynn County Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett signed an order Friday authorizing the evaluation, a little more than a week before jury selection is to begin Monday in Hazlehurst, about 75 miles from Brunswick.

"I do not anticipate any delays," Kelley said Tuesday.

Kelley wants a mental health expert chosen by the state to determine if Edenfield was mentally competent at the time he allegedly committed the crime, if he was mentally ill at the time or if he is mentally retarded.

Kelley told Scarlett in his request to have Edenfield evaluated that Edenfield's court-appointed defense lawyers, James Yancey Jr. and John Beall IV, have said they have either not made a decision to have him evaluated or do not have the money to pay for an evaluation.

Kelley said in a motion filed Thursday that the defense team had faxed a letter to the district attorney's office, saying that Edenfield's "psychological condition may become an issue" during the trial.

Kelley, in his motion, criticized the defense for providing the state with a notice so general that "it fails to specify the exact mental issue or issues that the state should be prepared to address."

However, Beall and Yancey have previously said that mental retardation is not an issue with Edenfield.

Kelley's motion asked that Edenfield be evaluated at Georgia Regional Hospital, either in Savannah or Milledgeville, and that the examination take place as soon as possible.

In his order granting the motion, Scarlett cautioned that if Edenfield fails to cooperate with the evaluation, or if defense lawyers fail to give prosecutors all documents they have from any mental health expert witnesses they plan to have testify, no expert testimony from any mental health professional will be heard. Beall said Tuesday that the state's request for a psychiatric evaluation of Edenfield is not a surprise to him.

"It's pretty normal in a death penalty case," he said. "Because of the circumstances of this case, we have no objection to the state requesting the evaluation."

Beall also said that he did not believe the evaluation would affect jury selection.

The jury will be drawn from residents of Jeff Davis County, the county farthest from Glynn County in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, in order to seat a panel that is unfamiliar with news reports on the case. The trial will be in Glynn County.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

At long last I'm pleased to announce!!!!!



Jury selection to begin in trial of man charged with boy's murder

Posted: Sep 20, 2009 11:44 AM EDT Updated: Sep 20, 2009 2:40 PM EDT

BRUNSWICK, GA - On Monday, jury selection for the trial of a man charged in the molestation and killing of a 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios will begin. The 6-year-old boy disapeared from his mobile home park in March 2007.

Sixty-one-year-old David Edenfield is charged with kidnapping, child molestation and murder. If convicted, Edenfield will face the death penalty.

Witnesses expected to testify against Edenfield include his wife, Peggy Edenfield. Police say she watched her husband and adult son, George Edenfield, take turns raping Christopher Michael Barrios before killing him.

George Edenfield is the convicted child molester. Peggy Edenfield and George Edenfield will be tried later.

Police say George Edenfield confessed that he choked Christopher because the devil told him to kill the boy.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Jurors sought elsewhere to hear case of of Brunswick boy's death
By Teresa Stepzinski | Morris News Service


Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 6:25 a.m.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- Jury selection begins today in Hazlehurst, Ga., for the death-penalty murder trial of David Edenfield, who is one of three family members charged with the sexual abuse slaying of 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr.

Jurors will be selected in south Georgia's Jeff Davis County, then brought to Brunswick for the trial, which could begin as early as next Monday.

Christopher was killed March 8, 2007. His body was discovered a week later inside a black plastic trash bag hidden in woods about two miles from the Canal Mobile Home Park in Brunswick, where he had lived with his extended family.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett has ruled that prosecutors can use Edenfield's statements to Glynn County police detectives as evidence.

The 59-year-old Edenfield blamed his son for killing Christopher, but initially admitted only to participating in the disposal of his body. He later confessed to greater involvement in the slaying, which resulted in police charging him with murder, retired detective Ray Sarro testified last month during a pretrial hearing.

Edenfield's attorneys, James Yancey Jr. and John Beall IV, contend he can't receive a fair trial anywhere in coastal Georgia because of extensive news media coverage of the case and public hostility.

That question should be answered when the 175 potential jurors summoned are questioned during the selection process.

Edenfield, his wife, Peggy, 58, and their 33-year-old son, George, were neighbors of the Barrios family. All three remain jailed without bail on charges of malice murder, kidnapping and child molestation.

District Attorney Stephen Kelley is seeking the death penalty against the father and son. Peggy Edenfield has agreed to testify against her husband and son in exchange for prosecutors not asking that she get the death penalty.

teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville. com, (912) 264-0405

From the Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 online edition of The Augusta Chronicle

PHOTO OF SCUMBAG AT:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/latest/lat_701946.shtml?v=0625
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Attorneys question jurors for Barrios case
Posted: Sep 21, 2009 5:45 PM EDT Updated: Sep 21, 2009 6:51 PM EDT

By Dal Cannady - bio | email

HAZLEHURST, GA (WTOC) - Jury selection began Monday for a Brunswick man accused of killing 6-year-old Christopher Barrios Jr. in 2007.

David Edenfield faces the death penalty on charges of murder, child molestation, child cruelty and more.

Prosecutors claim Barrios was molested then murdered and his body dumped in woods. Attorneys for both sides will try to find a jury from Jeff Davis county, then sequester them in Brunswick.

Edenfield is accused with his wife and his son of molesting then killing the 6-year-old. Barrios disappeared between his father's mobile home and his mother's house down the street in the Canal Road Mobile Home park. The Edenfields lived in between. Edenfield was convicted of child molestation from another case in 1997.

Authorities spent a week in March of 2007 searching the Edenfield home and the surrounding areas for clues. They finally found the boy's body in a trash bag a couple of miles from their mobile home park.

The crime rocked Glynn County and coastal Georgia as hundreds helped law officers search for the missing boy.

District attorney Steve Kelley hopes to start the trial in Brunswick next week if they have a jury in place.

Monday, prosecutors began asking each of the 175 potential jurors what they already knew about the case as well as their moral opinions about the death penalty.

Judge Steven Scarlett told the jury pool the case should take four to seven days to try.

Featured Videos

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Attorneys question jurors in Barrios case

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_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

We know it, but jury may never

* By Terry Dickson
* Story updated at 12:27 AM on Sunday, Sep. 27, 2009

BRUNSWICK - Until Aug. 29, Canal Mobile Home Park was the most infamous collection of dwellings in town.

On that day, New Hope Mobile Home Park took its place when police found nine people beaten awfully, seven of them dead and two badly injured. One of those beaten died later, and Guy Heinze Jr. is charged with killing his father, uncle, four cousins, an aunt and a cousin's boyfriend.

At Canal Mobile Home Park there was one victim, Christopher Michael Barrios Jr., 6, and four defendants. One of them, David Edenfield, 59, goes on trial this week and we'll focus again on the collection of aging mobile homes lining U-shaped Horseshoe Lane.

Although his father, Mike, and the rest of his family have moved, Christopher's last home is still there. Characters on the bedroom curtains suggest that a child lives there. Happily, one hopes.

The jurors will all come from Jeff Davis County because Glynn County people know too much about the case and probably have opinions about David Edenfield's guilt and that of his son, George. That can happen when Fox, NBC and CNN broadcast national news from down the street.

Peggy Edenfield will testify against her husband and son to avoid the death penalty. Their friend Donald Dale pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sent to a mental institution.

The jury will hear gruesome evidence, but there's a lot they may not see or hear.

They won't see the mobile home where, police say, the Edenfield men sexually assaulted and strangled Christopher. It stood in the middle of the U, between Christopher's home and that of his grandmother, Sue Rodriguez. It's been hauled away.

They won't see the path Christopher wore between his dad's and grandmother's houses, the one that passed right by the corner of the Edenfields' trailer.

They won't hear how his family's exasperation at his running off without permission on March 8, 2007, turned to cold fear when they found him nowhere.

They won't see the bare dirt yard where Rodriguez chain-smoked cigarettes for a week waiting to see a policeman lead Christopher down the road.

They won't hear the prayers of Christopher's former neighbor, a kind woman who came to her door with a dusting of flour on her black pants. She wouldn't give her name, but said she has five grandchildren and aches for Rodriguez.

"I've prayed for Sue many times," she said. "Mike, too."

They won't see Christopher's grave at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, a peaceful place off Old Jesup Road, lush and pretty from generous rain and near a pasture with horses.

They won't see the two angels etched into his heart-shaped tombstone or the 10 others placed around it with a hippopotamus bank.

They won't read the inscription beneath his smiling picture that says, "You were gone before I knew it. And why, God knows why."

And the jury may never know, either.

http://jacksonville.com/news/columnists/terry_dickson/2009-09-27/story/we_know_it_but_jury_may_never
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Opening Arguments Finish in Barrios Trial
Ann Butler Created: 9/30/2009 11:04:46 AM Updated: 9/30/2009 11:36:14 AM

BRUNSWICK, GA -- Today prosecutors outlined in detail their case against David Edenfield in the abduction and murder of 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr., who was reported missing and found murdered in 2007.

It took about an hour for both sides to complete their arguments. Prosecutor John Johnson described for the jury the events leading up to Barrios' death in the Edenfields' mobile home.

Barrios' neighbors David Edenfield, 61, his wife, Peggy, and their son George Edenfield are charged with the murder of the first grader March 8, 2007, after he returned home from school.

"Christopher Barrios did not want to be there. He told them to let him go. He said 'I want to leave. Let me go. Don't do this. I'm going to tell my parents.'"

Johnson said David Edenfield choked Barrios to death after he, along with his son George Edenfield, sexually molested him.

Defense attorney James Yancy countered that the case is about the facts. Yancy did not talk about the evidence specifically but said the prosecution doesn't have evidence to connect Edenfield to the murder.

MORE AT:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=145895&catid=3
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets