Police in 2 states hunt for a convicted killer mistakenly released from a Georgia jail

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Police in Georgia and Florida and searching for a convicted killer who was mistakenly released from a county jail south of Atlanta, authorities said.

Kathan Guzman, who is in his early 20s, admitted strangling his girlfriend, 19-year-old Delila Grayson, who was found dead in a bathtub in August 2022, according to police in Clayton County, Georgia.

Guzman was freed about two weeks ago, when jail workers mistakenly released him after not reading paperwork carefully, Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen told WSB-TV. The employees failed to see that Guzman had been convicted of murder and assault by strangulation and had been sentenced to life in prison, the sheriff said.

Allen said authorities believe he may have gone back to Osceola County, Florida, south of Orlando.

That’s where the victim’s mother, Christina Grayson, lives. She’s terrified that Guzman will come after the family for their role in the trial, WFTV-TV reports. Her family is sleeping in shifts so that someone is awake at all times, she told the Orlando station.

“I feel like I’m a sitting duck,” she said.

Osceola County deputies are patrolling her neighborhood as the search continues, she said.

“Our deputies are aware of the situation and are in contact with Georgia authorities,” the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Our primary goal remains the safety of our community.”

Guzman told someone after his mistaken release that “God is good” and that he believes it was the result of a higher power, the Clayton County sheriff told WSB.