2 Plead Not Guilty To Killing Woman In Roswell

ROSWELL, GA — Two defendants have entered not guilty pleas to charges related to the 2017 death of a woman whose body was found outside a Roswell home.

Milton resident James Jerome Lloyd and Petra Elvira Reese of Grove Town both pleaded not guilty Thursday during a hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick, said District Attorney's Office spokesperson Chris Hopper. Hopper said the case will now move forward through the justice system.

Roswell police arrested and charged the pair with killing Johns Creek resident Karen Lee LaForge, 53, the fiance of Reese's ex-husband. Officers were dispatched around 1:30 p.m. Jan. 17, 2017, to a person lying outside a home in the 500 block of Tyson Circle. Police arrived to find LaForge dead on the side of the residence.

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The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office previously told Patch that LaForge died from ligature strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. Lloyd was apprehended in late February 2017 while Reese was arrested in early March of that year.

A Fulton County grand jury last year indicted Reese on one count each of murder, three counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of tampering with evidence, stalking and burglary in the first degree. Lloyd was indicted on one count each of murder and burglary in the first degree and two counts each of felony murder and aggravated assault.

Photo: James Jerome Lloyd, left, and Petra Elvira Reese. Credit: Roswell Police Department