News

Family Of Slain Teen Upset That Judge Granted Bond

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a murdered teen is not a happy that a judge set bond for the man accused of giving another teen the weapon used to kill their daughter.

Angel Freeman's family left the Clayton County Courthouse without commenting after Chief Magistrate Judge Daphne Walker set bond at $55,000 for Robert Bethune. Police said the 21-year-old gave 15-year-old Kevin Kosturi a gun after the teen said he needed it for protection.

Officers said a day later, Kosturi shot Freeman, 16, in the chest in a makeshift fort in a wooded area in Ellenwood last month.

Walker said from the bench that she understood Freeman's family's position.

"It is my understanding that the victim's family is opposed to the bond," she said. Walker then pointed out that Bethune has no criminal history, a crucial component in determining bond.

The judge then told the family she placed conditions on the bond to ensure the community's safety. Bethune must surrender all of his weapons and he can't go near the victim's family, use social networks or be in the company of children other than his own.

In addition to a curfew, the judge said: "It was a requirement that he had GPS angle monitoring where we would at all times know where Mr. Bethune is located."

That didn't satisfy the victim's family.

They left the courthouse saying they had no comment.

Bethune's brother told Channel 2's Tom Jones that he understands their anger, but he said it's directed at the wrong person.

"It's not that Robert is the one that killed him. Kevin is the one that killed the girl. Not Robert," Victor Maddox said.

Freeman's mother told Jones she really wanted to see Kosturi. She wasn't able to after his attorney asked that the hearing be postponed because he had only been hired a couple of days before.

After court, John Cicala winced as he thought about the case. "Of course there's no winners in a case like this. It's a tragedy for everybody involved," he said.