Suspect in slaying appears in court; no plea yet

The man accused of killing former Jackson resident Dylan Polen, 21, in Carroll County, Ga., made his first court appearance Monday.

John Edward Woodham, 28, of Douglasville, Ga., had his first hearing but has not yet made his plea in connection with Polen's death, said Lt. Shane Taylor of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department.

Taylor said that investigators are working around the clock to wrap up their case against Woodham. He said that Woodham and Polen were apparently acquainted with each other, but declined to say how the two men knew each other or for how long. Taylor also said that because the investigation is continuing, he is also unable to release the cause of death or a possible motive.

"He has not been very cooperative with us," Taylor said of Woodham. "The investigation is still going on pretty strong right now."

Taylor said more information might be made available by midweek.

Polen had been living in Atlanta when he disappeared July 9. Between September and January he worked as a volunteer for a Christian-based ministry called Mission Year.

His body was found July 14 in an area where trees had been cut for pulp wood.

Friends of his remember Polen as a bright young man with a strong Christian faith. His former girlfriend, Jessica Hodge, said Polen was doing missionary work in the inner city of Atlanta.

'Passion for Christ'"He had a passion for Christ," Hodge recalled.

Polen was known among his friends as someone who knew the Bible thoroughly and was determined to follow where he believed the Lord was leading him.

Polen dropped out of Jackson High School, Hodge said, but later earned his GED.

"He was very smart; oh my God he was smart," Hodge said. "After he had accepted Christ, he went down to Atlanta."

The couple dated for about a year and a half, she said, breaking up around 2002, the year she graduated from high school. They remained friends after their breakup, and she saw him last around Christmas when his sister's baby was born.

"We both decided to go our separate ways," she said. "It was not God's will for us to be together any more. He was a great friend; I still appreciated him. He meant the world to me."

Learning of his death, she said, "shook my foundation."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160