Hughes Pleads Guilty
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Taylor Marie Hughes pled guilty to one count of felony murder and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree in the Toombs County Superior Court on Thursday, July 17, and agreed to testify against her boyfriend, Seth Brown.
On Friday, March 14, at around 7:45 p.m., Toombs County 911 Dispatch received a call about an unresponsive child. The caller shared that they were driving to the emergency room from their residence with the child and needed an ambulance to meet them on the route.
The child was later identified as 4-year-old Reese Hughes. Toombs-Montgomery EMS met the caller and Reese at the Enmarket in Lyons, located at the intersection of West Liberty Street and South Victory Drive, where they immediately took Reese and continued from page
began working to try to save her life. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia.
Toombs County Sheriff Jordan Kight requested assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 12 Office to probe the case. Through the investigation, suspicion arose that Reese was beaten to death, which led to the arrest of her mother, Taylor Marie Hughes, 29, of Lyons, and Taylor Hughes’s boyfriend Seth Hunter Brown, 26, of Lyons.
The couple both went before Chief Middle Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Robert Reeves for their first appearance in court on Monday, March 17, where Judge Reeves informed the pair that bond would not be considered at the current time. Hughes requested a court-appointed attorney while Brown stated he would hire his own counsel, and with no further business to attend, the hearing was adjourned.
Brown and Hughes were each indicted by the Toombs County Grand Jury on April 22 on two counts of malice murder and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.– one for each body part (abdomen and head) which was struck during the incident. The couple also were charged with four counts of felony murder – a count each for “maliciously causing cruel and excessive physical pain by striking the child” in the head and abdomen, and a count each for harming the child’s brain and intestines, ultimately leading to her death. Two additional counts of aggravated battery were also charged to the couple because of these injuries.
On Thursday, July 17, Hughes entered a formal guilty plea to the court for her role in her daughter’s murder as she failed to protect Reese from the abuse from Brown. Prior to the plea, Hughes told investigators critical information about the case and agreed to testify against Brown, who potentially faces the death penalty, in the upcoming trial later this year.
Middle Judicial Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Robert Reeves accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Hughes to serve life imprisonment with twenty years added concurrently.
Toombs County Sheriff Jordan Kight spoke on the case, as he shared his appreciation for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 12 Office and Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for their collaboration on the case. “We remain committed to seeking justice for Reese and holding all responsible parties accountable,” he emphasized.
Brown will have a pretrial hearing on October 7 at 10 a.m., while the trial will begin on December 8 at 9 a.m. Both the pretrial and trial are set to be held in the Toombs County Courthouse.
TOOMBS COUNTY BIBLE READING – Toombs County Statewide Bible Reading Coordinator Vicki Tillery led citizens in an act of faith on Monday morning, July 14, as they gathered to read chapters from Hebrews during the Statewide Bible Reading event.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIBLE READING – Montgomery County was one of 27 counties where citizens met to read the Bible at 7:14 p.m. on Monday night, July 14, as a part of the Statewide Bible Reading event. The event was coordinated by Makaylee Randolph, and participants read from Ezra.Photo by Alysa Marsicano
