'We'll be prepared': Family of Anitra Gunn still awaiting trial date one year after her death
This Valentine's Day will mark one year since 22-year-old Anitra Gunn was last seen alive. Since then, law enforcement charged two men in her death.
'We just want everybody involved to get served'
In February 2020, Fort Valley State University senior Anitra Gunn went missing and was later found dead. The case still shakes up investigators and her family, as they keep Anitra's memory alive.
Antwoine Gunn says his big sister, Anitra, was just one year older. "When we were young, she was just always, you know, happy. Nobody every could like make her sad."
He says they spoke daily.
"We were FaceTiming every day, almost up until her death," he says.
Antwoine says the last time he spoke to his sister was the day before Valentine's Day.
On February 15, her father, Christopher Gunn, drove to Fort Valley from Atlanta to file a missing persons report.
Three days later, searchers found her body in the woods of Crawford County.
Antwoine's father called him to tell him the news.
"I didn't really wanna believe anything was wrong for real, anything that happened to her, I just didn't wanna believe it," he says.
Police charged Demarcus Little, Anitra's boyfriend, with malice murder in Anitra's death and also criminal damage to property.
Investigators believe Little is the person who slashed Anitra's tires and threw a brick through her window nine days before she disappeared.
Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese says Little is still in jail in Peach County, but that investigators still don't know why he allegedly killed his girlfriend.
Little's friend Jaivon Abron, was arrested and charged with concealing a body and two counts of giving false statements to law enforcement in Valdosta. Deese says he is out on bond.
Family of Anitra Gunn still awaiting trial date one year after her death
"He was released in July on a $20,000 conditional bond. He's basically under house arrest with ankle monitors," says Deese.
Deese says court dates were put on hold because of COVID-19.
Antwoine says he's struggled through the last year without his sister, but the family is coping, and ready for justice.
"We'll be prepared, my family will be prepared. We just want everybody involved to get served," says Antwoine. "We don't want nobody off for doing such a crime like that," he says.
In August of 2020, what would've been Anitra's graduation day, Fort Valley State University honored her with a posthumous degree in visual and performing arts.
In a statement, Fort Valley State University says:
'Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with her family, friends, and other loved ones. Anitra will not be forgotten. She will live on in our memories as a dedicated student and well-liked member of our university family.'
No bond is set for Demarcus Little.
Timeline: Everything that's happened in the Anitra Gunn case
Here’s a timeline of all the developments in the case:
2/14
- 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
2/15
- 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
2/17
- 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.
2/18
- 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
2/19
- 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
2/20
- An autopsy is scheduled for Anitra Gunn on Thursday morning, the results have not been released yet
2/21
- 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
Anitra Gunn's boyfriend, Demarcus Little, appears in court
2/24
- A warrant reveals Gunn's cause of death as 'manual strangulation.' Little appears in court for his murder charge and is not granted bond.
2/24
- A vigil for slain Fort Valley State University student Anitra Gunn was held Monday evening at the C.W. Pettigrew Center on the university's campus located at 1005 State University Drive in Fort Valley.
- Gunn's family has a GoFundMe set up for funeral and burial expenses. You can donate here.
2/26
- At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, GBI Assistant Special Agent Todd Crosby announced the arrest of 21-year-old Jaivon Abron. He was charged with two counts of false statements in Valdosta (Lowndes County) and one count of concealing the death of another in Peach County.
2/29
- Family and friends gathered at Greater Peace Baptist Church in Opelika, Alabama to remember the life of slain Fort Valley State student Anitra Gunn on Saturday. Gunn was laid to rest at New Canaan Baptist Hall Fellowship Church Cemetery in Camp Hill, Alabama.