TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia's Supreme Court has decided to throw out a murder indictment for a Telfair County man accused of killing an elderly couple four years ago.
Last year, a local judge canceled the murder charges against Jay Towns, saying the grand jury used to indict him wasn't chosen properly.
In an opinion released Monday, the the state's highest court agreed.
In 2015, when prosecutors took his case to the grand jury, fewer than 16 people reported to jury duty out of the 50 summoned. So the court clerk called several people she knew who could get there quickly.
The courts said that violated the rule that juries should be chosen randomly.
Towns is accused of luring Marietta couple Bud and June Runion to Telfair County to look at a 1966 Mustang he advertised on Craigslist.
Oconee Circuit District Attorney Tim Vaughn is seeking the death penalty in the case.
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