NORWICH – George Ford Jr., 42, of Piscataway, N.J., pleaded not guilty Monday to the charge of second degree murder in the July 8 death of a 12-year-old babysitter.
Judge W. Howard Sullivan remanded Ford to jail after the defense said they would not resist the prosecution’s request that no bail be granted for the accused.
“The defendant is accused of one of the most horrendous of crimes, murdering a young girl,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride.
Ford’s defense attorney Randel Scharf did object to a motion made by the DA’s Office to correct an error in the grand jury minutes which placed the time of death at 12:15 a.m., instead of at 3:20 a.m. “If it was an error made by the grand jury, they should be the ones to correct it. It would be improper for the prosecution to alter the document under the pretenses of it being a simple typo,” said Scharf. Sullivan reserved on the decision and said he would respond in writing at a later date.
Police essentially turned a Global Positioning System found in Ford’s truck into a lie detector. The device revealed time, location and even the speed of Ford’s truck on the night of the incident, said Sheriff Thomas Loughren.
“He did know the device was there, but we don’t believe he understood its total capability,” said the Sheriff. Ford’s wife admitted to installing the device a few days before the incident took place because she was suspicious he was having an affair and wanted to keep track of him.
The information taken from the GPS contradicted nearly all of Ford’s statement given to police and shows his vehicle parked behind an abandoned house in Otselic for over three hours. During that time, police said the 12-year-old victim, Shyanne A. Somers, may have escaped from Ford. Police believe she fled the scene and she was pursued by Ford in his pick-up truck. Investigators also believe he deliberately ran her over at around 3:20 a.m.
Ford appeared at Chenango Memorial Hospital at 5 that morning and told police he had accidentally ran over the girl while showing her his horses. He also told police the accident happened around midnight and he was too shocked by the condition of her body to move it. He also reported he became disoriented and lost on his way to the hospital. Police originally charged Ford with first degree reckless endangerment.
Police found cocaine along with small traces of alcohol in Ford’s blood and confiscated a bag of marijuana from the truck.
His wife told police he had a prior drug-related offense from Arizona in 1993, but could not elaborate.
Investigators are still looking at the scene behind the abandoned house and waiting for further results from the sexual assault kit and other forensic evidence. Loughren said he could not answer questions about any possibility of sexual abuse until more tests had been completed.
Two other major cases appearing before the court Monday were postponed. Jonathan “Joe” Elwood, 29, Ashcraft Road, Norwich, is charged with predatory sexual assault, first degree burglary, first degree rape, first degree robbery, first degree criminal sexual act, first degree criminal use of a firearm and petit larceny. Elwood had his appearance rescheduled because his lawyer had a conflict.
Jason Allen Sherman, 24, McDonough, is charged with two counts of first degree manslaughter and second degree assault for allegedly causing the death of his girlfriend’s infant. Sherman has pleaded not guilty to all counts and was supposed to appear for pre-trial hearings, but asked to have his court date rescheduled so he could consider a plea bargain arrangement. He will return in two weeks.