The couple accused of killing Clark Atlanta University student Alexis Crawford and dumping her remains in a metro Atlanta park have pleaded not guilty to their charges, according to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
Jordyn Jones, 22, and her boyfriend Barron Brantley, 21, are charged with murder in Crawford’s tragic demise. Authorities say the CAU senior was strangled at the off-campus Atlanta apartment she shared with Jones on Oct. 31 of last year.
The pleas come a little over a week after a grand jury indicted the pair on a slew of charges, including felony murder, murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment. Brantley was also charged with a count of aggravated sodomy for allegedly sexually assaulting Crawford, 21, just days before her death.
Crawford and Jones, whom the victim considered her “best friend,” got into a physical fight after Crawford went to police about the reported assault by Brantley. Prosecutors say a rape kit later confirmed that the suspect’s DNA was in fact found inside Alexis’ body.
According to a police report, Brantley got involved in the scuffle between his girlfriend and Crawford and, as a result, choked the victim until she was dead. Authorities say the pair then placed Crawford in a plastic bin and drove her body to Exchange Park in nearby Decatur, Georgia, where they dumped her remains.
Crawford remained missing for more than a week before authorities located her body Nov. 7.
Jones and Brantley waived their arraignment hearings Monday when their charges were formally read, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Prosecutors announced last week that they would not seek the death penalty for the pair if they were to be convicted of murder in Crawford’s slaying.
Both remain jailed without bond. Their next court date is scheduled for sometime next month.
