Accused pregnant teen killer won’t stand trial in Dothan until 2025

DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — A Henry County man accused of kidnapping and shooting a pregnant 19-year-old from Florida to death last summer will not stand trial until next year.

Court records show that Marquis McCloud is set to stand before Judge Christopher Richardson on January 13, 2025.

McCloud was initially set to go to trial in late July, but court filings show that over the past five months, his trial date was pushed seven times throughout the fall of 2024 before landing in January.

Houston County District Attorney says that despite the continual pushes, McCloud's case is moving forward as expected, and they are waiting for several pieces of evidence to come back from the state lab.

McCloud is charged with one count of Capital Murder-Kidnapping and one count of Capital Murder-Two or More Persons in the murder of 19-year-old Anastasia Gilley and her 4-month-old fetus.

Gilley's "badly decomposed body" was found in a Houston County field in early May 2023 after she went missing from her Jackson County home.

READ MORE: Accused pregnant teen killer indicted on Capital Murder charges

According to Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza , Gilley may have wilfully met McCoud in person after speaking with him through social media.

The sheriff says at some point after meeting in person, McCloud began holding Gilley against her will and then shot her to death in the field off Headland Avenue.

McCloud's indictment from October 2023 claims he shot Gilley multiple times.

In June of this year, McCloud pled not guilty to his charges, claiming he has a "mental disease or defect."

Houston County District Attorney Russ Goodman says he plans to lead the prosecution on this case personally, and if McCloud is convicted, the DA's office will seek the death penalty.