Details about the slaying of an Augusta man whose body was dumped in Burke County in July emerged Friday during a bond hearing for two of the suspects.
A joint Burke County Superior Court bond hearing was held Friday, Oct. 14, for Albert Killebrew, 36, and Ramondo Williams, 18. They along with three others, one of whom is Williams’ father, are accused of murder in the death of Morris Harden Jr.
The body of the 58-year-old victim was found beside a rural road, the Watkins Pond Road, in Burke County on July 10.
Friday, Assistant District Attorney Rex Myers said Harden’s left leg was broken and a piece of rope was found with his body, indicating he may have been bound. He had suffered a number of gunshots to his neck and back, Myers said, although the lack of blood at the scene led Burke County Sheriff investigators the believe he was killed elsewhere.
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The investigators tracked down witnesses who said Ramondo Moore, 38, ordered the death of Harden and that it occurred in a house under construction on Ninth Avenue in Augusta, Myers said. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office declined to take the case, Myers said, and the Burke County detectives continued the investigation and obtained a search warrant for the possible scene of the crime. They found bullet fragments and blood there, he added.
The investigators also found suspected body fluids in the truck of a vehicle owned by another suspect, Carl Rouse, 61. Killebrew told investigators that another codefendant, Willie Johnson, 51, was also involved in the attempted coverup of Harden’s slaying.
Killebrew’s attorney Tyler Baum asked Judge Amanda Heath to consider bond for Killebrew who had been steadily employed under earlier this year when he had surgery. All of his family lives in the area, Baum said.
Williams’ defense attorney Keith Johnson also asked for bond for Williams who graduated from high school this past spring. He also works full time and was recently accepted into Paine College. Johnson said there will be evidence that Williams wasn’t present when Harden was killed, and that while Moore is his biological father, he has never been involved in Williams’ life.
Heath denied bond for both men. Moore, Johnson and Rouse are also in custody.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â
