Man charged in Georgia slaying cited by White House amid immigration crackdown pleads not guilty

ATLANTA (AP) — The man charged in a slaying in suburban Atlanta that the Trump administration highlighted in support of its tough immigration stance pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of murder and rape, according to a court filing.

Hector David Sagastume Rivas was scheduled to appear in a Cobb County courtroom on Tuesday. But in the filing signed by his attorney, A. Lee Fudger, he waived formal arraignment and entered the plea.

A message for Fudger was not immediately returned.

Rivas also pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault, aggravated sexual battery and necrophilia in the attack on 52-year-old Camillia Williams, who was strangled in Marietta some time late on the night of March 11 or in the early morning hours of March 12. Marietta is about 20 miles (32 km) north of Atlanta.

Authorities have not disclosed any motive.

Rivas, a 21-year-old from Honduras, entered the U.S. illegally in March 2021 and was arrested by border patrol agents before being released with a notice to appear in court, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The agency said a judge had ordered his removal in 2025.

In a statement on X in March, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Rivas “should have never been in our country in the first place,” and she and President Donald Trump were “putting the safety of Americans FIRST.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the slaying “horrific” at a news conference in April and said it reflected the Biden administration’s lax border enforcement policies.

Williams was a mother and grandmother whose family said she had moved to metro Atlanta from Louisiana.

Her brother, Arsene Williams, told WAGA-TV he believes his sister would still be alive if Rivas had been deported.

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Associated Press writer Jeff Martin contributed to this report.