Georgia: Murdered Teen Girl's Diary Leads to Alleged Killer

Nov. 11, 2011 — -- The diary of a teenage girl murdered in Clayton County, Ga. has led police to a suspect in her case, more than a year after her death.

Candice Parchment was just 15 when she disappeared on April 28, 2010. That night, Parchment left her home, but why she left is still a mystery to her mother Caffian Hyatt.

In November 2010, investigators found Parchment's remains underneath and old mattress in a wooded area near her home, but found few clues about who had committed the crime.

"It's over a year. It's almost two years. The pain never goes away," Hyatt tearfully told ABC News' Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV.

But last month police got a break in the case when Hyatt found her daughter's diary as she was packing up to move, according to WSB-TV.

As Hyatt read the diary, she made a startling discovery. She read the names of two teenage boys who had allegedly assaulted her daughter, Marshae Hickman and Jermaine Robinson.

A Clayton County police affidavit obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details the terrifying situation Parchment endured in an abandoned house, which she wrote about in a Jan. 5, 2010 diary entry.

"Jermaine hit her in the head with a rake and Marsha blocked the door," the document said. Parchment's cell phone rang as the teenage boys allegedly choked her and began to unzip her pants as she fought back.

It was her mother, who was driving around looking for her, and Parchment was able to speak to her briefly. Hyatt noticed people inside the abandoned house and when she pulled into the driveway, the affidavit said, the boys panicked and Parchment was able to escape.

"Apparently, they pulled her into the house and tried to rape her," Hyatt told WSB-TV.

Hyatt told the station that her daughter never reported the attack to authorities and wrote in her diary that the boys had threatened her. Hyatt immediately turned the diary over to police, hoping it might help solve the mystery of her daughter's death.

When police looked into the two names, they discovered that one of teenagers, Marshae Hickman, 19, was already in the Clayton County Jail for a burglary charge. When confronted with questions about Parchment, Hickman allegedly confessed to strangling her and hiding her body under a mattress, according to WSB-TV.

"[Hickman] stated that he placed his arm around her shoulders and was trying to speak with her," said the affidavit obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He stated that he then placed her in a position where his arm was around her neck. He squeezed tightly and kept his arm there until she fell limp."

An autopsy reportedly indicated that Parchment has been stabbed, but the affidavit said that Hickman only admitted to strangling her. It is unclear whether Hickman worked alone or with someone else.

The Clayton County Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Hyatt said she would like to know why her daughter was killed and cried over the moments that have been stolen from her.

"I will never get to see her," Hyatt said. "I will never get to have grandchildren through her, see the woman she would have become."

Robinson has not been charged for Parchment's alleged attempted rape or murder. Hickman is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing regarding Parchment's death on Monday.