A Detroit man, suspected in the killing of his wife, is fighting extradition back to Michigan from Georgia, as investigators continue to search for the woman's two missing children.
An extradition hearing was held this afternoon in a downtown Atlanta courtroom for Erin Justice, who appeared wearing blue jail garb and a chain around his waist, said Tracy Flanagan, a spokeswoman with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office in Georgia.
Justice, 28, who was arrested Wednesday in Atlanta, is accused in the killing of Alicia Fox, whose decomposed body was found in an abandoned Detroit home Monday. Officials in Detroit are seeking a murder charge against him, police said.
"He has decided to wait for the warrant from Michigan" Flanagan said. "And he will remain in the Fulton County Jail for the next 30 days."
A governor's warrant will be required to extradite him to Michigan, she said.
Justice is being held without bond and has another hearing scheduled July 14, Flanagan said.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to search for the couple's 8-month-old son Kristian Justice and Fox's 6-year-old daughter Kaylah Hunter.
"Our focus now in this investigation is locating the children," Detroit Police Chief James Craig said today during a news conference.
Craig said he didn't know if the children were dead or alive, but said he's "hopeful that the children are alive."
He said Detroit investigators flew to Atlanta to talk to Justice. Craig said police "believe that he has information that can lead us to the children."
Justice was arrested by the FBI and booked into the Fulton County Jail at 11:56 p.m. Wednesday, Flanagan said. Online jail records show he is being held on a fugitive from justice charge. Justice was interviewed by agents from the FBI Atlanta Field Office on Tuesday, but was not arrested at the time, FBI Detroit spokesman David Porter previously said.
Craig said Justice had flown to Atlanta and hadn't been there long before authorities first made contact with him.
He said a second man, a 27-year-old, was arrested in Detroit on Wednesday and is expected to be charged as an accessory after the fact.
Fox, 27, was found wrapped in blankets underneath a door in an abandoned home in the 6800 block of Penrod on Monday.
Fox lived with her two young children and Justice at a home on Ardmore.
Police executed a second search warrant on the Ardmore home Wednesday night, and authorities found a bullet lodged in a wall, which had been freshly patched and painted, a person familiar with the investigation told the Free Press.
Authorities also determined that blood was spattered on the ceiling of an upstairs bedroom at the home on Ardmore, authorities said.
Craig said police consider the Ardmore home "the scene of the crime." He said blood evidence was found at the home, "but we haven't conclusively determined if the blood evidence is associated with any victim and so that part of the investigation is still ongoing."
Fox had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including two to her head, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.
On Wednesday, police scoured areas of Penrod and Ardmore.
A section of Ardmore was blocked off with yellow police tape Wednesday evening. Investigators searched the back yard after finding loose dirt, but found nothing.
