A 21-year-old Honduran national, accused of the murder of a Georgia grandmother, chose to waive his arraignment and entered a not guilty plea to charges of capital murder and other offenses in Cobb County Superior Court on Monday.
Hector David Sagastume Rivas’ trial is set for June 23, according to a court document obtained by Fox News.
Rivas allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on 52-year-old Camillia Williams, a mother of five and grandmother, strangling her in March. Authorities found her body abandoned in a wooded location.
The alleged perpetrator, an illegal immigrant, was apprehended and subsequently released at the U.S. southern border by the Biden administration in March 2021. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement noted that he has been under a deportation order since July 2023.
A family-provided photo of Camillia Williams, a 52-year-old mother of five and grandmother allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant in March of this year. (Vance Williams via FOX 5 Atlanta)
Rivas is charged with six counts that include capital murder, aggravated assault, rape, aggravated sexual battery and necrophilia. He is being held in jail without bond.
Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
Williams’ killing has drawn parallels to the murder of Laken Riley, whose body was left in the woods after she was murdered in Georgia by an illegal immigrant who was caught and released by border authorities. He was later convicted of Riley’s murder.
Fox News’ Samantha Daigle, Bill Melugin and Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
