GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga — A mistrial has been declared in the case of the Lithonia man accused of murdering a teenage girl who he said was his friend.
Austin Ford, 25, faced charges in the shooting death of Tori Lang, 18, nearly two years ago. Police discovered her body in Yellow River Park near Stone Mountain. Her burned-out car was found a few miles away.
On Monday, the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision on murder, aggravated assault, and voluntary manslaughter charges. That resulted in a mistrial for Ford on those charges.
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Prosecutors say Ford shot and killed Lang, then hid her car in DeKalb County and set it on fire.
Ford’s attorney argued that the final medical examiner report was not definitive enough as to whether the death was determined to be a homicide or a suicide.
In the end, the jury was unable to reach a verdict for murder, aggravated assault, and manslaughter.
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The jury did find Ford guilty of theft for taking her gun, theft for taking her car, and also guilty of concealing her death.
Lang’s family left the courthouse Monday too devastated to speak to Channel 2′s Matt Johnson after the verdict.
It’s unclear how much time Ford will serve in prison for the lesser crimes.
“Each carries a penalty of one to 10 years. There’s no mandatory minimum so the judge can sentence him from anything from one to 30 years,” defense attorney Lawrence Lewis said.
The Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office hasn’t said if they plan to re-try the murder charges against Ford.
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