Crime & Safety

Judge Sets Bond In Journey Ann Cowart Murder Trial

Defendant Austin Levi Payne was granted a $1 million bond on Tuesday by Bartow County Superior Court Judge G. Carey Nelson.

The man who, along with his girlfriend, faces murder charges in the death of the woman's child has been granted bond.

Bartow County Superior Court Judge G. Carey Nelson III granted a $1 million bond to Austin Levi Payne, has been charged with murder in the death of 1-year-old Journey Ann Cowart. 

Payne's attorney Paul Smith filed the bond motion, which was heard on Tuesday in Nelson's courtroom. 

Journey's grandmother, Barbara Cowart, told Nelson that while she understood he could set bond in the case, she asked Nelson to set an amount that "properly addressed the charges faced by Payne," according to a release from the Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office. 

The court earlier this month also set bond at $1 million for Brandy Ann Boyd, the child's mother who is also accused in the crime. 

Payne and Boyd have been charged with murder in the death of Journey, who died at Cartersville Medical Center on Jan. 21 after she was taken to the emergency room not breathing.  

Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap previously told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Journey was beaten to death, with "a fractured skull, blunt force trauma to the stomach." He also said there was evidence of previous abuse.

The pair were initially charged with first-degree cruelty to children and aggravated battery, but the charges were upgraded after an autopsy revealed the extent of Journey's injuries.


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