By By BRIAN BLACKLEY
Publisher
The trial date of McGregory Riley, an Atmore man who is charged with the murder of Jomika Williams, 20, in a Dec. 30, 2000 attack, has been set almost exactly a year from the date he was arrested.
On Dec. 10, Riley, 32, will face murder charges in connection with the murder of his girlfriend in what police believe was a bizarre tale of murder and attempted suicide.
The case, scheduled in Escambia County Circuit Court, stems from a New Year's Eve attack that left Williams dead. Officers found her body in the 298 Jack Springs Road apartment she shared with Riley with a knife sticking out from her chest.
Riley, officers say, confessed to the crime and stated that he had taken more than 150 Tylenol tablets in an attempt to take his own life after the murder.
After being transported from Atmore Community Hospital to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile where he was treated for his overdose, Riley was arrested and charged with murder.
According to reports from the Atmore Police Department, Riley placed the call to police notifying them of the murder, stating that he had killed his girlfriend.
The trial is scheduled to begin the morning of Dec. 10 with public defender J. Todd Stearns serving as Riley's counsel.
Atmore Police investigated the murder under the direction of investigator John Brantley.