Slain teen's mom satisfied with guilty verdict

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A man has been found guilty of murdering a teenager who wrote in her diary that he had attempted to rape her months before she disappeared.

A jury found Marshae Hickman guilty Friday of several charges, including murder and the attempted rape of 15-year-old Candice Parchment. Her mother said she could feel her presence in the courtroom.

"It's not over, but at least Candice has gotten some justice," Caffian Hyatt told Channel 2's Tom Jones after the verdict was announced.

Parchment wrote in her diary about how Hickman and Jermaine Robinson tried to rape her in 2010, three months before she disappeared.

"She convicted him in her own words," Hyatt said.

She said it was like her daughter was on the stand when prosecutors read from the diary.

"I was praying," Hyatt said.

Hyatt said her daughter told her about the rape but wouldn't say who the attackers were. Months later, police found the girl's body in a wooded area under a mattress.

Hyatt became emotional and put her head down as the verdict was announced, but Hickman barely moved. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Robinson previously pleaded guilty in the rape case but wasn't charged in the murder case. Hyatt said he should have been.

WSBTV