Ray Pleads NOT GUILTY to Murdering his wife Sueann Ray

On Wednesday, September 20, 2006 I headed to a Pickens County courthouse to appear on behalf of Sueann Ray's family who were unable to attend the court proceedings for the formal arraignment for Quinton Ray who was finally arraigned for the charges of murdering Sueann Ray on August 26, 2005.
It was an hour drive for me to the courthouse where the media was waiting ready for any reaction for either side of what is going to one of the biggest murder cases that Jasper Georgia has probably ever seen.

As the charges were read by District Attorney, Joe Hendricks, I glanced across the court room to Quinton and something I noticed that has never happened before, he began to shake his head back and forth "NO". At that point I knew what the plea was going to be once the charges were all handed down. Of course, one of the capital defense attorneys stood up and read NOT GUILTY on all charges and we were not suprised at all by this. Then came the legal jargon by the defense.

It became more of a concern for the defense attorney that Quinton Ray was being led into the court wearing a prison jumpsuit and having to wear leg shackles and handcuffs than the issue at hand --- that being he was being arraigned for a murder charge. As this went on for about 10 or 15 minutes, it was finally decided that he would be able to wear normal clothing at the next hearings, however he would be handcuffed and shackled (if I remember correctly) due to security concerns).

After we cleared this hurdle and set the next hearing, the suspect was removed from the court room and I was glad he was gone, because I was sick of looking at him. Then came a bombshell of an event I've never seen before, especially at an arraignment. The defense requests private investigator John Seay to enter the court room. At this time, Judge Weaver has to stop these conversations because Quinton Ray has been taken out of the court room and he's headed back to the jail. They have to radio back to the police and bring him BACK to the court and START the hearing process all over again. I was like ----- oooook. Quinton is then seated back in the court room and then the defense restates their request for private investigator John Seay. John then enters the two double doors looking sharp as a tack and walks to the front of court. John has been served with a subpoena and has no other choice but to appear and he is there :)
He is then asked if has an attorney present and his answer is "no". From there, Quinton Ray's defense attorney's ask to put John Seay on the stand to discuss information he has in his file regarding his investigation that was done during the investigation he did for the family of Sueann Ray while she was missing. The judge WILL NOT allow this. She says that John Seay can appear back on October 18th with his attorney at the next scheduled hearing and no person will be put on the stand today.
I was not believing this ridiculous attempt by these attorney's. What the HELL where they thinking. This was an arraignment hearing. We are not even at trial yet!

This was a day packed full of twists, turns and suprises. As I told FOX 5 News, 11 Alive News Atlanta, Channel 2 Action News, and others, we expected this, and we are prepared for whatever is lieing ahead. This is going to be a long hall and we are just going to have to stick this out at all cost. We really do not have a choice in the matter. Read the following article from the Cherokee Tribune.

By Angela M. Jones
Cherokee Tribune Staff WriterThe estranged husband of murdered Woodstock mother Sueann Ray on Wednesday afternoon made his first appearance in court in almost six months.Quinton Ray of Jasper was formally arraigned before Judge Brenda Weaver at the Pickens County Courthouse and charged with malice and felony murder, kidnapping, concealing the death of another and tampering with evidence. His attorney, Douglas Ramseur of the Georgia Capital Defenders office, pleaded not guilty to all charges on his behalf.Judge Weaver denied a request from Ramseur to waive Ray's formal arraignment just before the indictment was read by Pickens County District Attorney Joe Hendricks.
Ray was arrested Feb. 8 shortly after GBI agents discovered the remains of his 26-year-old estranged wife buried in a shallow grave off Cherokee Gold Trail in northern Cherokee earlier that morning. He was indicted by a grand jury Feb. 20 on the same charges.If convicted, Ray could face the death penalty.Mrs. Ray's family reported her missing Aug. 29, 2005, three days after she went to Jasper to visit Ray. Her 1999 Ford Windstar was found in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Canton that night.Dressed in an orange-and-white Pickens County prison uniform, shackled and handcuffed, Ray was escorted into the courtroom by two officers and sat silently through the arraignment.At both Ray's April 12 court appearance and Wednesday afternoon's proceedings, Ramseur objected to his client appearing in court dressed in prison clothes, shackles and handcuffs. He requested Ray be allowed to appear wearing civilian attire and without shackles and handcuffs."These proceedings are being covered by the media, and the images of Mr. Ray as he is attired now have a very damaging effect on my client and his case," he said.Judge Weaver granted the request for Ray to appear in civilian clothes at all future court appearances but denied Ramseur's requests the handcuffs and shackles be removed, calling them a standard security procedure. She denied his request to delay Wednesday's arraignment so Ray could change into civilian clothes.
Ray will return to court Oct. 18 for a hearing on the option of reciprocal discovery, or sharing of evidence, and whether the defense wants to participate.The judge asked both the state and the defense to file all motions related to the form of the indictment within the next 30 days and any other motions they already plan to file within the next 60 days, so a hearing to discuss the first of them can be held Feb. 1 or 2. She granted both sides the right to file additional motions later, as needed.Friends and family of Mrs. Ray attended the arraignment and sat attentively during the proceedings, some crying quietly into tissues."We're here to support Sueann on behalf of the family, who couldn't be all be here today," said family friend Jill Bennett of Gainesville. "It's going to be a long haul for us, but we'll be here as long as it takes to find justice for her.Several members of the Ray's family also attended the arraignment but declined to comment on the advice of his attorney.Quinton's father, Harold "Danny" Ray, 54, of Ball Ground also was named in the indictment Feb. 20, charged with concealing the death of another, hindering the apprehension of a criminal and tampering with evidence. He allegedly helped Ray drive Mrs. Ray's minivan from Jasper to Canton.He was released Feb. 22 on a $60,000 bond, with the conditions he waive his Fourth Amendment rights, be monitored by a GPS tracking device at all times and have no contact with the victim's family, including his 8-year-old granddaughter.

www.CherokeeTribune.Com

Link with Video of Court Appearance