ATLANTA — Martha Grogan has waited three years to see her daughter's accused killer stand trial and she could still be months away from getting justice.
Friends of Grogan have organized a grassroots effort to push the Fulton County District Attorney's Office to move forward with the case against Calvin Myers, her daughter's ex-boyfriend.
Myers rammed his car into Minka Grogan's Roswell townhome in April 2009. Myers then chased down Grogan, smashed her head with a rock and stabbed her more than a dozen times, according to police.
Myers decided to plead guilty to murder charges in August 2010 and even apologized in court.
"I didn't mean to stab her. Please, y'all, forgive me," Grogan said. He later changed his mind, withdrew his plea and asked for a trial. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
"It's just one delay after another. It's like this maze of red tape that I don't comprehend," Martha Grogan told Channel 2's Linda Stouffer. "I do really want some kind of peace."
Howard emailed a statement to Stouffer that said prosecutors are preparing for pre-trial hearing but the defense team has delayed the case.
“Since the occurrence of this vicious crime on April 18, 2009, the State has operated in an expeditious fashion to bring this defendant to justice," Howard said. " In 2010, in fact, we had hoped this matter would be resolved with the guilty plea of the defendant to a murder charge that would have resulted in a life without parole sentence. However, on August 12, 2010, during the sentencing for the plea he had already entered seven days earlier, Defendant Myers changed his mind and withdrew his guilty plea. The withdrawal of that plea set in motion a series of defense delays over the course of the following year and a half."
From the onset, the State has stood ready to move forward with the prosecution of Mr. Myers. We are ready now and we will be ready when the case is finally called for trial,” Howard concluded.
Howard said that court scheduling is done at the state Superior Court level, not by his office. He included a timeline of the case that showed the defense team asking for a delay because of scheduling conflicts four different times.
A competency trial for Myers is set for August.
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