A Cherokee County Superior Court judge denied a plea agreement reached between the district attorney and an accused murderer and set the trial date for May.
Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney Garry Moss presented a plea agreement for Rodney Burton March 9 before Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Jackson Harris.
Moss said he couldn’t speak about the case or what happened in court last week.
“I can’t comment on anything,” Moss said.
Burton’s attorney, Tom Ford, of Alpharetta, said he “felt it was inappropriate at this time to comment on the matter.”
Harris, who relayed a message through his secretary, Rena Morris, said he also could not speak about the case.
“Because the case is still pending, it would be improper for him to comment,” Morris said.
Under the agreement, Burton would have changed the not guilty plea he made Jan. 6 to guilty and would serve 20 years in the state penitentiary system. For the 10 years following his release, Burton would remain on probation. He would have had to sign a contract stating he could not seek early parole, and he also would have had to pay his deceased wife’s children $100,000 in restitution.
The money, Moss said in court March 9, would be used to pay for the children’s upbringing.
Moss, at the request of Harris, presented evidence that would have been presented if the case went to trial.
Following Moss’ presentation, Harris asked that Ford prepare a document outlining his client’s version of the events leading up to the death of Kimberly Hicks Burton—who was murdered in January 2009 at her River Green home.
After a short recess, Rodney Burton, dressed in orange and shackled and much thinner and paler than he was at his March 2009 arrest, returned to the courtroom with his attorney.
Instead of accepting the plea, Harris reset the trial date to
May 24.
Rodney Burton is accused of murdering his wife, Canton optician Kimberly Burton, in January 2009. Kimberly Burton’s ex-husband and ex-father-in-law found her body Jan. 19 at her River Green home. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy revealed she was killed by a combination of blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxiation.
Mrs. Burton’s 2007 Nissan Maxima was missing from the home when her body was found, but Mr. Burton’s older version of the vehicle was still in the garage.
The 2007 Nissan was found at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Mr. Burton missed some scheduled business trips, which led police to believe he fled the country.
The investigation revealed that Mr. Burton boarded a plane to Mexico at 9:30 a.m. the same day his wife was found, police said.
He reportedly stayed in Mexico until he ran out of money. He surrendered himself to police March 21 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, police have said.
The investigation was jointly worked by Canton police and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Canton Police Chief Jeff Lance said, if the victim’s family had been happy with the plea, it would have been OK with him, but the Canton Police Department is ready for the trial.
“Are we worried about the trial? No,” Lance said. “This case has shown the strength of the city of Canton police department and the sheriff’s office working together. We’re ready to go to trial.”
Sheriff Roger Garrison, whose agency assisted with the investigation, said he’s pleased with the strength of the case, and his agency, too, if ready for trial.
“It’s a solid case,” he said. “I never understood a plea in the first place.”
