GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Jessica Motes is scheduled to return to Hall County Superior Court Friday morning for another round of pretrial proceedings in the death penalty case stemming from the death of 4-year-old Autumn Fox.
The 36-year-old Motes is scheduled to appear before Hall County Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton. The hearing is expected to focus on non-evidentiary motions filed in the case. A second hearing is scheduled next month.
The hearings are part of a lengthy pretrial schedule established in May as prosecutors move forward with their intention to seek the death penalty against Motes.
Motes pleaded not guilty July 8 to charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, first-degree cruelty to children and concealing the death of another.
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Child found in car trunk
The charges stem from the October 2025 death of Autumn Fox. Authorities found the 4-year-old’s body in the trunk of Motes’ Nissan Sentra on Oct. 26 after the vehicle was left in the parking lot of the Sam’s Club in Oakwood.
According to the indictment and arrest warrants, prosecutors allege Autumn suffered blunt-force trauma, a broken arm and exposure to fentanyl, methamphetamine and xylazine, a veterinary sedative increasingly found mixed with illicit drugs.
Motes was arrested following the discovery and has remained in custody without bond.
Prosecutors formally notified the court in March that they intend to seek the death penalty. Court records indicate Motes was previously offered the opportunity to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without parole, but she rejected the offer.
Friday’s proceeding is one of several pre-trial hearings scheduled. The case is not expected to go to trial until 2027.
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