The accused killer who spent two nights in a cold weather shelter in Cornelia has been indicted for murder in connection with the grisly crime.
A Hall County Grand Jury indicted 29-year old Jose Garcia-Flores. He’s accused of stabbing and dismembering 52-year old Harmon Lavender at the Sun Suites Hotel in Gainesville on Jan. 7. Garcia-Flores is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime.
According to the indictment, Garcia-Flores seriously disfigured Lavender’s body “including his head, legs, hands, fingers, genitals and internal organs.” An autopsy revealed Lavender died of multiple stab wounds.
When Garcia-Flores showed up in Mt. Airy the day after the murder, no one knew a crime had been committed; Lavender’s body wasn’t discovered until Jan. 10.
Cornelia Police gave Garcia-Flores a ride to the shelter at the First Baptist Church of Cornelia on Jan. 8. Now Habersham interviewed him for a story on the shelter on Jan. 9. The shelter closed on Jan. 10 and that’s when Garcia-Flores told volunteers he wanted to return home to New York. Volunteers chipped in to buy him a ticket and drove him to the bus station in Gainesville that same day.
On Jan. 11 Gainesville Police began circulating photos of Garcia-Flores, identifying him as a missing person. He reportedly lived at the same hotel as Lavender and authorities said they were concerned for his safety. That quickly changed. Authorities say Garcia-Flores became the prime suspect in the crime during the course of their investigation. He was arrested in New York on an unrelated parole violation and extradited to Georgia on Jan. 14.
Garcia-Flores is being held in the Hall County Jail.
