EFFINGHAM CO.—The man accused of murdering little Willow Long has entered a plea in his case: not guilty to all three counts.
This was expected today, as Justin DeRyke, 22, the uncle of the late Willow Long, 7, both of Watson, made an appearance in Effingham County circuit court, this after yesterday’s grand jury in which DeRyke was indicted on the charges that were filed against him last week. DeRyke is charged with three separate counts of First Degree Murder, upheld by the grand jury yesterday after they returned three true bills of indictment stating same.
Willow Long died either in the overnight hours of Saturday, September 7, or early morning of Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013. The matter is up for speculation as the only information available comes from what DeRyke told authorities when he was being questioned, and much of that doesn’t quite fit the timeline Willow’s mother, Ciara DeRyke (Justin’s sister) told authorities during the duration of two days Willow was considered missing.
The courtroom was fairly crowded today for the 1 p.m. arraignment today (our correspondent counted 33 people present), with DeRyke being brought in through a secure area of the courthouse, which provided no opportunity for her to get a perp walk shot. Today’s hearing was originally scheduled to be the preliminary hearing, in which the state was going to present evidence enough to bind DeRyke over for trial, but yesterday’s grand jury superseded that (a prelim is not held when grand jury indictments are returned).
So today’s hearing was merely a formality: formal reading of charges, and entry of a plea.
Represented by a public defender (Scott Schmidt), DeRyke entered the not guilty plea, and now both sides will be preparing for trial. A date has been set: December 2, 2013. It’s highly unlikely that this will be the date, but according to the Constitution, a date has to be given the defendant, especially if he’s incarcerated and unable to make bail; the court has 120 days from the date of indictment to bring the accused to trial (Fifth Amendment/speedy trial). Any delays in the procedures can be attributed to the defense and stop the speedy trial clock; but if DeRyke insists on going to trial on that date, the state has to be ready to proceed.
Jade is thinking of doing a newsblast later this afternoon on her impressions of the proceedings; be watching for that.