Man pleads not guilty in 2023 violent death of homeless Athens man

The second of two men charged in the violent assault on a homeless man that ended in his death in 2023 entered a not guilty plea Tuesday in Clarke County Superior Court.

Andre Carthens, 46, entered the plea before Western Circuit Senior Judge David Sweat, who was presiding over the case in the absence of Judge Patrick Haggard.

Carthens, who was charged with felony, malice murder and aggravated battery, was brought before the court wearing an orange jumpsuit and his hands shackled.

A co-defendant, Antion “Blue” Parks, 32, had entered a similar not guilty plea on the felony and malice murder charges on March 19.

Both men remain in jail without bond.

They are charged in the slaying of Jarrard Eric Pittard, a 42-year-old homeless man, whose body was found Dec. 3, 2023, near railroad tracks at North Avenue and Willow Street. Parks and Carthens were living in a homeless camp off Newton Bridge Road at the time of their arrests, which came about two weeks after the killing.

Previous reporting: Two suspects charged with murder in death of homeless Athens man

Athens-Clarke police investigated the homicide, although they have released no reports on a possible motive.

Court documents show the slaying was brutal. The records note that Pittard’s ribs were broken on both sides with bones piercing his lungs, and his hyoid bone in the neck was broken, an injury that can cause asphyxia.

There was extensive blunt trauma to the body with bruises found to the arms, legs and head with the beating disfiguring the body, according to the records.

The warrant noted that the victim was struck with “a tool handle,” but was not specific as to what type of tool.

The body was found lying face down in the woods, according to police.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens crime: Suspect pleads not guilty in death of homeless man