COLQUITT COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL) - The families of those five victims will now be able to see this case move forward.
It's been a virtual standstill since we last saw Jeffrey Peacock in court last May, when his hearing in September was continued.
Since last seeing Peacock in court, he has gained a new attorney on his case. Former attorney Burt Baker resigned from the case after taking a different job. According to court documents, Peacock's new attorney is Allan Sincox.
Hearings were postponed for him to familiarize himself with the case.
The September hearings were rescheduled for Feburary and in Feburary, Peacock's new attorneys filed a motion to continue them once again.
With this new hearing scheduled for May 2, Peacock is one step closer to trial but legal experts say that could be a long wait.
Death penalty cases generally take longer to try because more motions are filled and all of those motions have to be heard in open court. This hearing on May 2 is for the judge to hear the defense's motion to dismiss the indictment due to unconstitutional composition of the grand jury.
A grand jury is made up of randomly computer generated citizens from the community in which the case is being tried.
The grand jury is to match the race, gender, age, and sex make up of the community. Then that grand jury will decide whether to issue a true bill or no bill for an indictment.
Jeffrey Peacock was indicted for 14 charges back in March. He pled not guilty to those charges last May.
The latest order filed in the case is a protective order to seal the names, birthdays and addresses of all jury members serving on this case. That order has been signed by both attorneys.
