FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Jury selection starts Monday for the man accused of murdering Fort Valley State University student, Anitra Gunn.
Her boyfriend, Demarcus Little, is scheduled to go on trial this week – two years after her death by strangulation.
In Feb. 2020, Gunn’s father Christopher drove to Fort Valley from Atlanta to file a missing person’s report. Three days later, searchers found her body in the woods in Crawford County.
Police charged Little with malice murder and criminal damage to property. Investigators say he slashed her tires and threw a brick through her windows nine days before she disappeared.
Lawyers in the case predict the trial will take about a week.
CASE TIMELINE
Feb. 14
- Anitra’s father, Christopher Gunn, calls to wish her a happy Valentine’s Day on Friday morning
- Fort Valley Police say the last time she was seen was around 11:30 a.m. (there is a discrepancy in timelines between Fort Valley Police Department, Peach County Sheriff's Office, and GBI)
- Christopher Gunn says Anitra’s brother tried calling her and no one answered the phone
- Gunn asked Anitra’s friends and family to try calling her to see if she would answer
- Gunn asked police to do a courtesy check at Anitra’s residence on W. Church Street. No one was found in the house, and Gunn says nothing looked out of place that would indicate a robbery or struggle.
Feb. 15
- Gunn drove down from Atlanta to Fort Valley to file a missing person’s report
- Law enforcement found her car on Belle Street Saturday afternoon, near her apartment
- Gunn says the front bumper was damaged and the car was found in a neighbor’s yard
- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation takes Anitra’s car for processing. The GBI has not said what they found inside, but Gunn says her wallet was inside
- Gunn says police told him that Anitra’s phone was found somewhere else, but did not tell him where
- Fort Valley Police issue a release asking people to be on the lookout for Anitra
Feb. 17
- A task force between Fort Valley Police and Peach County Sheriff’s Office was formed to assist in the search for Anitra
- The GBI confirms to 13WMAZ that Georgia State Patrol and GBI are flying helicopters to assist in an aerial search for Anitra
- On Monday afternoon around 4 p.m., two dozen volunteers were out searching the area where Anitra was last seen -- the house of her boyfriend's aunt on Chestnut Hill Road
- Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese releases photos of Anitra's car with the front bumper missing. He says whoever has the bumper probably knows where she is.
- Search crews tell 13WMAZ that they're packing up and will be ending their ground search for the day around 5 p.m.
Feb. 18
- Crimestoppers announces a $5K reward for information leading to Anitra's location
- Peach County investigators are at the scene of a home in Taylor County Tuesday afternoon where they hope to collect evidence
- Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese says they received an anonymous tip about a car connected to the case being seen near property in Taylor County owned by Anitra's boyfriend's aunt
- The location was searched on the ground and by drones -- nothing noteworthy was found says Deese
- Just before 5 p.m., the GBI confirmed to 13WMAZ that Anitra's body had been recovered in Crawford County near the Peach-Crawford line
- Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese says in a news conference that Anitra's boyfriend is a 'person of interest' and is being interviewed voluntarily for a third time
- Hours later her boyfriend is arrested and charged with an incident that happened with Anitra on Feb. 5. They say he smashed the windows at her apartment and slashed her tires
- Fort Valley State University issues a statement asking for prayers and offers counseling services to students
Feb. 19
- The Fort Valley Department of Safety positively identifies the remains as Anitra Gunn's
- Anitra's father, Christopher, releases a statement thanking everyone who helped search for his daughter. He asks for privacy and continued prayers for the Gunn family
- Fort Valley Police release the incident report from Feb. 5, where she does not name her boyfriend as being responsible for vandalism at her home
Feb. 21
- Demarcus Little appeared in a Peach County courtroom around 1 p.m. for a bond hearing on his criminal damage to property charges
- Just after 5:30 p.m. Friday, Little was then formally charged with malice murder in the death of his girlfriend, Anitra Gunn
Feb. 24
- A warrant reveals Gunn's cause of death as 'manual strangulation.' Little appears in court for his murder charge and is not granted bond.