The Murder of Katie Hamlin
For this case, I watched an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn. It’s season 10 episode 16 titled ‘Trapped by Lies.’
I usually watch the episodes and then do additional research, and there’s not a lot of information out there about this case, but I did find some other information that wasn’t talked about in this case, I will add that information to the end of the post.
A young girl was murdered and left to die in a wooded area. It would take awhile for answers and a conviction, but justice was finally served.
Background
Katie Hamlin
Katie Hamlin was a 15 year old girl that lived with her parents in Cherokee County, Georgia.
Katie was described as very mature for her age and independent. Her mom, Donna was interviewed and she said she gave Katie a lot of freedom, but that they were still very close.
Katie’s Disappearance
On July 2, 2002, two men were out walking in a wooded area, when they found a young woman’s body. They immediately called 911, and the police soon came to the scene.
The police believed the woman was between the ages of 18-25, she had been left outside naked and burned. There was a bra laying nearby, but that was the only other evidence that was found near her. The police were also able to determine that the victim was burned where she was found because the grass was burned around her, too.
The next step was to identify the victim. The wooded area was not too far from a neighborhood, so they wanted to see if there were any missing persons reports that matched the young girl.
Katie’s mom started panicking after she hadn’t heard from her daughter. Katie went out the night of her disappearance, but had come home around 11:30pm. However, when Donna went to check on Katie, she was gone and her bed hadn’t been slept in. Donna called the police.
Autopsy and Identification
Donna was confused about the young victim, and didn’t know if it was her daughter because the news reports kept saying that the victim was 18-25 years old and Katie was only 15.
The police went to the Hamlin’s house to collect Katie’s hairbrush and look at photos to see if Katie was in fact the victim. The police at that point believe their victim was Katie, because she had red hair and matched the other physical characteristics the victim had. They wanted to obtain and match her dental records to be sure.
Katie’s dental records were a match. Katie was also taken in for an autopsy, but it was hard to determine her cause of death, because she had been burned. There were signs of strangulation and bruising, and they also found unknown male DNA on her. Her cause of death was also ruled as undetermined.
Suspects
The last time Katie was seen was at her house at 11:30pm, but her mom said she must have gone out again. The police obtained Katie’s phone records to see if she called anyone after 11:30pm, and there were several people that Katie called.
The first person was Katie’s friend named Garris Becklund, who was a bit older at 21 years old. Katie had also gone to Garris’s house that night, but they never hungout because he wasn’t home.
Katie also talked on the phone with a 17 year old named Jamerson Mangrum. They had talked for twelve minutes. The police had ruled out other suspects during the investigation, but they brought in both Garris and Jamerson for questioning.
Interrogations
The police questioned Garris and Jamerson, who both denied talking to Katie or seeing her that night. However, the police told Jamerson they had proof he had talked to Katie. Once he was confronted, he said yes they did talk, but he didn't see her.
The next part is really strange because the police saw in the phone records of the two men that they were in contact with each other, and they both had different explanations for it. Jamerson said he and Garris were friends, and that Garris called him and said Katie had overdosed on drugs that night. Garris said he didn’t know anyone named Jamerson, and that he had received a call from an unknown number around 2:30am and told the person to stop calling his house.
The police didn’t know who to believe so they had the two men pass by each other at the police station, and that apparently determined that they didn’t know each other. Garris was ruled out, and Jamerson was now their only suspect.
The Path to Justice
Once Mangum was confronted again, he said he was with Katie that night and that they had sex at his house after he picked her up. The police believed that Katie had been raped, but they knew Mangrum’s DNA would be on Katie.
At this point, Katie’s cause of death was still ruled as being undetermined, so the district attorney couldn’t try Jamerson Mangrum for Katie’s murder. Jamerson was still held in jail for rape charges. This was obviously disappointing, but the DA, Wally Rogers, wanted to send Katie’s autopsy findings to a pathologist to see if the cause of death could be changed.
It was eventually changed to homicide, after the pathologist changed it and said the evidence shows that Katie was raped and strangled.
There were also a few other witnesses that came forward, two inmates and a couple that lived in a nearby neighborhood. The inmates said that Jamerson confessed to how he killed Katie, put her in his truck, dumped her and set her on fire. The couple said that they saw a black truck speeding down the road and running a stop sign late that July night.
Arrest and Conviction
Despite the case being very circumstantial, Jamerson Mangrum was arrested and charged with first degree murder and rape.
Jamerson Mangrum
His trial started in December 2005. The theory was that Mangrum met up with Katie, raped and strangled her and then took her to the wooded area to burn her to get rid of evidence. He was also described as a “monster,” even though he was only 17 at the time of the murder.
Jamerson pleaded not guilty, and even testified at his trial. He said he is innocent and didn't kill Katie. He was still found guilty and sentenced to life in prison plus 80 years.
He has still tried to maintain his innocence.
Additonal Information
According to an article from cbs46, Katie’s dad, Joe Hamlin, thinks that Jamerson Mangrum is innocent. He said that he has phone records that prove Jamerson was actually at home when his daughter was killed, and he has been in contact with Jamerson, who’s still in prison.
Katie’s mom, Donna, is apparently “disgusted,” by her ex and believes that Jamerson is the killer.
Joe Hamlin also did some time in prison for fondling a 12 year old child, and child pornography was found on his computer.
There was also another person named Roberto Rocha, who was actually arrested and charged with Katie’s murder. This was not talked about in the episode AT ALL. That’s something really big to just not have in an episode like this. Roberto Rocha apparently confessed, but then it was determined he was in Brazil at the time of the murder and it father had the paperwork to prove it.
I have linked the article below in my sources.
Other
In August 2013, a memorial bridge for Katie was put up over the wooded area where her body was found, it’s called Katie Memorial Bridge.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In all honesty, I think the right person is in prison. He confessed to being with her that night and never said he was home alone. I think he wanted to have sex with Katie, and ended up raping and killing her. His own words came back to haunt him, and I hope he rots in prison.
I don’t know whether or not Katie’s dad is a reliable person. He could have changed after prison, and maybe he really wants to find justice for his daughter, but I think justice already has been served. I think if there was evidence that proofed Mangrum didn’t kill Katie, he would be out by now or there would have been another trial.
I hope both Katie’s parents can find peace knowing that the right person is probably behind bars.
Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/LegalCenter/storyid=1779251&page=1
