‘Cold-blooded murder’ not in client’s character, says lawyer for Anitra Gunn’s boyfriend
The man accused in the strangulation murder of a Fort Valley State University student who vanished on Valentine’s Day and whose body was found four days later in southern Crawford County, made his first court appearance Monday on charges related to her slaying.
Demarcus Devantae Little, 23, accused of murder in the death of 23-year-old Anitra L. Gunn, an agriculture major from Atlanta, repeatedly told a judge, “Yes, sir,” when asked a series of routine questions about whether he understood the charges against him.
Little was arrested Feb. 18 on charges that he damaged Gunn’s 2013 Chevy Cruze and smashed windows at her apartment in early February. He was granted a bond in that case on Friday but before he was released from jail, he was charged with malice murder in Gunn’s death.
In Crawford County Magistrate Court on Monday, Judge Cary F. Hays III read aloud from the warrant accusing Little of murder, saying that Little “did ... knowingly, intentionally and willfully commit the offense of ... malice murder against Anitra Gunn on the day of February the 14th.”
According to the warrant, Gunn was killed sometime between 2:30 a.m. and midnight on Valentine’s Day.
Gunn’s body was found by a Peach County sheriff’s deputy searching the countryside for clues along the Peach-Crawford border, roughly five miles north of the Fort Valley State campus. She and Little had been involved in a relationship at some point over the past year or so, his relatives have said.
Little, an Army sergeant based at Fort Gordon near Augusta, had lived with an aunt along Chestnut Hill Road, roughly a mile and a half east of where Gunn’s body was found. Investigators have said that the house where the aunt lives was the last place Gunn was seen alive.
Judge Hays set an April 24 court date for another hearing in the case, which could involve whether a bond will be set for Little, who at least for now is being held in the Peach County jail.
As Monday’s 10-minute hearing drew to a close in front of TV news crews from at least two Atlanta stations and a trio of such crews from Macon, the judge told Little, “I have nothing in the world against you. I wish you well in this matter. I hope that somewhere down the road maybe this’ll be behind you.”
Little’s lawyer, Benjamin Davis of Atlanta, later told reporters that he found the magistrate’s remarks “encouraging,” even though Judge Hays will not preside over subsequent hearings in superior court.
Davis also said he intends to seek a speedy trial for Little and used the opportunity to trumpet his client’s military service.
“He’s a soldier, so his primary focus in life is defending America, putting his life on the line,” Davis said, adding that he thinks Little’s Army background is significant in the case.
“We believe that in time what will be shown is that he’s really not capable of committing this kind of offense. If he were the kind of person that would commit a malice murder ... like this, that would have been borne out in the military,” Davis said.
Davis said his client has no criminal history and that he was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant, “a pretty good indication of his character.”
Davis said that most recently Little had been deployed to Poland, helping “fight off Russian aggression towards that country.”
He declined to comment on Little and Gunn’s relationship, but continued to herald Little’s integrity.
“If you look at his character, from all we know about him right now, he is not the kind of individual that would go out and commit a cold-blooded murder. Certainly not strangle somebody,” Davis said.
The lawyer went on to say that as a veteran himself who served in the first Gulf War that from his experience veterans are disciplined and are not capable of “going out and committing a cold-blooded murder.”
He said he doesn’t yet know specifics of potential evidence that led investigators to charge Little with murder, and suggested that “there may be some evidence that he wasn’t the last person” to see Gunn.
David Cooke, the Crawford district attorney, who was standing within earshot as Davis addressed the media, later told the gathered reporters, “We’re gonna do everything we can to get justice for Anitra, her family and the community. ... We look forward to the day that we can bring this man to justice in court.”
He said that as the investigation has worn on that “this case has gotten stronger and continues to do so.”
Asked about the talk of Little’s character and Little’s military service, Cooke was quick to answer.
“The (police) work wasn’t based on anyone’s character,” Cooke said. “The work was based on the evidence.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 4:20 PM.