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Funeral Services Set For Jennifer Ewing

Thursday, July 27, 2006 – updated: 4:01 pm EDT July 28, 2006

Funeral services have been set for Jennifer Ewing, the mother of three brutally murdered along the Silver Comet Trail earlier this week.

Services will be held on Monday at 11:00 a.m. at the Buckhead Church at 4967 Roswell Road.

Authorities in Paulding County say Ewing died of blunt force injury to the head and chest.

Her body was found Wednesday in woods not far from the trail.

Lieutenant Colonel Jim Walker, commander of the county's SWAT team, declined to say whether any evidence was found in a sweep by investigators yesterday. Authorities previously found a pair of black bicycle shorts and a bicycle near where Ewing's body was found.

Police have named Michael Ledford as a suspect in Ewing's murder.

Investigators arrested him on Tuesday on a probation violation.

Ledford is a convicted rapist who served ten years in prison for an attack on another woman. He was released from prison in 2001 and is serving ten years probation.

Ledford went to the Dallas Police Department at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday bleeding profusely from a wound in his genital area, investigators with the Dallas Police Department told Channel 2 Action News.

Police say Ledford claimed he was negotiating with a prostitute for sex when she bit him on his genitals.

Officers took him to the hospital for treatment.

When investigators heard reports that night about Ewing’s disappearance they began questioning Ledford.

Michael Ledford

The 54-year-old Ewing routinely rode a 50-mile round trip portion of the trail several times a week. Her husband reported her missing Tuesday evening after she did not return from one of her routine bicycle rides.

Her body was found Wednesday morning.

Maj. Tom Murphy of the Paulding County Sheriff's Office said there was "obvious trauma" to the head and body, making the initial identification difficult.

Officials say Ewing died of blunt force trauma to her head and chest.

Paulding County Sheriff's Department Colonel Jim Walker says the body was partially clothed and there were signs of a struggle.

Walker says officers found a pair of black spandex riding shorts on a patch of kudzu near where the body was found -- about 40 feet from the paved trail. Officers also found a bicycle nearby.

Ewing's 26-year-old son, Jim Ewing, issued a statement yesterday afternoon on behalf of the family, acknowledging his mother's death. It said the family had "prayed for a happy outcome but instead we're faced with this tragedy."

Ewing's husband said her silver Honda minivan was found after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Family members said she made a 50-mile round trip on the trail three to four times a week.

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