EASTMAN, Ga. — On August 13, 2016, Eastman officer Tim Smith was killed in the line of duty.
The man who allegedly killed him, Royheem Deeds, hasn't been tried in the seven years since.
Chelsea Clark, Smith's fiancée at the time, remembers him fondly.
"As a person, he was goofy, loved his kids [and] loved to joke around," Clark remembered.
She had life all mapped out and, like any bride-to-be, was making plans for their wedding.
"It's hard not to think about him and, you know, just the time we had and how things would be now," Clark said.
There isn't a day that she and her 7-year-old daughter Madison don't think of Tim.
"I'm sad because he died," Madison said.
Smith was an Eastman police officer.
On that August night, he responded to a report of a person with a gun.
That person was Deeds.
After approaching him, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Deeds ambushed and fatally shot him.
Though Madison was only five months old when Tim's life was cut short, memories told by family members still impact her.
She remembered one her mom shared with her.
"When he tried getting me to say dada, I was surprised because I didn't know he ever tried getting me to say it," Madison said.
Tim Vaughn is the District Attorney of the Oconee Judicial Circuit.
He remembered how devastating this was for the Eastman community.
"I responded that night to the scene and to the hospital, and there was a lot of shock," Vaughn described. "It was just a very dramatic experience for all those that were involved."
Although Deeds is in jail for allegedly committing this crime, he's yet to go to trial.
"It usually takes us about a year before we get crime reports, the majority of autopsy reports [and] GBI files," Vaughn said.
Initially, the hearing was underway, and so far, lawyers on both sides have filed at least 120 pre-trial motions, according to Vaughn.
However, gathering evidence for a potential death penalty, a pigeon contamination in the courthouse in 2019 and Covid pandemic shutdowns kept this case from advancing.
Vaughn now said they are moving toward getting an official trial date.
"All of last week, we had hearings on motions concerning the admissibility of evidence and various other things," Vaughn said.
He also told 13WMAZ a judge approved a request by Deed's lawyers to move the trial to a different county.
Though no date or location is set, Vaughn said a trial could happen as soon as next year.
This comes as good news for Chelsea and Madison.
"I will be happy when it's done and over with. I think that's the closure we all need, you know, his family [and] I think that's closure Madison needs too," Clark.
Vaughn added his DA's office is currently working on four other death penalty cases.