READ | Woman found dead at Gwinnett mall was top student, driven to succeed

Man's body was found badly decomposed in the sparsely populated mall on Dec. 21, 2017. The vacant Subway restaurant in which she was found was covered in her blood and hair, and Davis' fingerprint was found in Man's blood on a wall, according to police.



An autopsy showed that Man died from asphyxiation caused by intense pressure put on her chest, "as if someone sat on her," Gwinnett County Police Department Lt. Jake Smith said in June. She also had four fractured ribs and a finger that was split open as if someone had stomped on it with great force, Detective Brian Dorminy said in a June hearing.

Emmett Davis appears at his preliminary hearing at Gwinnett County jail - Magistrate Court on Thursday, June 28, 2018. Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

The last activity on Man’s cell phone occurred on Nov. 30, and she was last seen in public on Nov. 20, Dorminy said. Man was killed some time between Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, the indictment says.

The malice murder charge indicates prosecutors believe Davis intentionally killed Man without provocation. In Georgia, a felony murder charge indicates that someone is believed to be responsible for another person’s death in the commission of another felony, such as aggravated assault.

The added theft charges stem from the pawning of Man’s iPhone; the indictment alleges Davis took the phone from Man at the time of her death and pawned it on Dec. 23.

Davis remains held without bond at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.

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