Brian Gaither, a suspect in the August 2010 murder of 18-year-old Latisha Frazier who admitted in court to disposing of her body in a plastic bin and placing it in a dumpster, took the stand today to explain why he wants to withdraw his guilty plea.
“I didn’t know how serious this plea really was,” Gaither said.
Gaither said his attorneys did not tell him in detail what the plea meant. He added that when he entered the plea he was “tired, emotionally and mentally.”
“I just gave up,” he said.
Judge William Jackson is still deliberating on whether or not to grant his request.
Gaither is charged with premeditated, first-degree murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice. He pled guilty in November.
Jackson told Gaither Wednesday that granting the plea withdrawal would not be an easy task.
“I’ve got to make an important decision…and it’s not going to depend solely on what you want,” Jackson told Gaither. “I can’t just allow defense to manipulate the trial…this is not a complicated case.”
