Slaying suspect has 26-year criminal past

SILVER COMET TRAIL KILLING
Slaying suspect has 26-year criminal past

By CRAIG SCHNEIDER , YOLANDA RODRIGUEZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/28/06

A suspect in the killing of Jennifer Ewing has a criminal history that spans more than a quarter century and four states and includes the 1991 rape of a Paulding County woman, records show.

Michael William Ledford, 43, was on probation from the rape conviction when police detained him after finding him with alcohol, which violated his probation, authorities said. Investigators questioned Ledford Thursday but had not charged him in Ewing's death, said Paulding County Sheriff Bruce Harris. He confirmed that Ledford "is one of our suspects."

A department statement later said that "investigators believe that an arrest is forthcoming."

A 54-year-old mother of three from Sandy Springs, Ewing was killed by blunt force injury to the head and chest, according to GBI medical examiner Dr. Kris Sperry.

Ledford is listed on the state's sex offender registry and lived, according to the registry, in a house on Mill Creek Lane in Hiram, roughly eight miles from the crime scene just off the Silver Comet Trail. The state says authorities checked the address as recently as July 6.

State records show Ledford served nearly 10 years in prison after his 1991 conviction for rape in the attack of a 22-year-old Dallas woman. After being denied parole three times, the state released him in 2001. He is serving 10 years probation.

Searchers found Ewing's body on Wednesday morning, about 40 feet off the trail, near mile marker 17, between Hiram and Dallas. Relatives last saw her alive about 1 p.m. Tuesday, police said, when she talked with her son at home. About seven hours later, Ewing's husband called police after she failed to come home for dinner.

Police have not outlined in the detail the sequence of events that led to Ledford's arrest.

Ledford went to the police department in Dallas at 3 p.m. Tuesday bleeding from a wound beneath his waist, a Dallas police officer told WSB-TV. Ledford told police he was injured during a dispute with a prostitute, and officers took him to a hospital, the TV station reported.

Donald Ledford of Douglasville, the suspect's brother, said the family is devastated.

"Everybody is tore up," he said. "Right now we're just like everybody else. We're waiting for results, waiting for testing."

He said he has not spoken to his brother since his detention.

"We're going to get together as a family," he said. "We're confused."

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said the agency is expediting DNA tests, with results expected in about 10 days.

Ledford was convicted in 1986 for impersonating a police officer in Cobb County, court files say. He also was convicted in 1988 of breaking and entering in Michigan. In 1980, he was convicted of kidnapping and robbery in Florida, according to court files.

In April 2002, Ledford pleaded guilty to false imprisonment in Tennessee. He spent at least five months in jail and was put him on probation, according to records in the Paulding County Superior Court.

The small, brown, wood ranch home where Ledford lived on a rural road was quiet Thursday afternoon, except for a dog barking inside in response to a knock on the door. No one answered. No cars were in the driveway.

Two rocking chairs sat on the porch, a wind chime hanging in the still, humid air.

Neighbors said they knew little of the people who lived in the house, and when shown a photo of him, some said they were not certain that Ledford was an occupant.

Gov. Sonny Perdue sought to stem anxiety that news of the killing generated.

"Everything that has been reported about this case suggests that Jennifer Ewing's horrific experience was an unusual act of violence on an otherwise safe and popular exercise trail," he said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "While it is important that we remain vigilant and sharply aware of our surroundings, it is my sincere hope that this tragic situation will not cause citizens to refrain from enjoying the wonderful outdoor assets, like the Silver Comet Trail, that Georgia has to offer."

Ewing's husband, Jim, works for the Georgia Department Economic Development

On Thursday afternoon, however, as temperatures soared into the 90s, only a few cyclists, joggers and walkers were on the trail. Women were hard to spot — alone or in groups.

One trail regular, 62-year-old Roy Thompson of Marietta, ventured onto the Silver Comet despite the killing.

"I feel the trail is mostly safe," he said.

Still, he added, "after what happened, you might have to reevaluate the times of day you ride. Mornings and evenings there are a lot of people out. During the middle of the day you don't see as many."

-- Staff writers Carlos Campos and David Markiewicz contributed to this article.