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Former MSU student indicted on capital murder charge |
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Friday, 01 August 2008 |
By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News
Former Mississippi State student Bobby Batiste will stand trial in the slaying of his roommate in early March.
Batiste, 28, of 250 Sinai Road, Preston, was arraigned Thursday in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court on a grand jury indictment for capital murder in the death of Andreas “Andy” Galanis, 28, of St. Martin on March 7.
Galanis was found dead in the apartment he and Batiste shared at the 21 Apartments complex on Oktoc Road just south of the MSU campus shortly before 6 p.m. that day.
Batiste, who has been in jail since his initial arrest, was denied bond by Judge Jim Kitchens on Thursday. Attorney Mark Williamson of Starkville is representing Batiste.
Galanis’ slaying was discovered by Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputies shortly before 6 p.m. March 7. Deputies had been sent to Galanis’ apartment following a phone call from members of his family to the Sheriff’s Department expressing concern for his well-being when he failed to catch a Florida-bound flight from the Biloxi airport at 4 p.m. March 7.
Initially told upon arrival at the apartment by a roommate — who was identified as Batiste — that Galanis had left to catch the flight, deputies were let into the apartment by to further investigate the welfare concern reported by Galanis’ family.
Upon entering the apartment, the deputies discovered large amounts of blood and then found Galanis’ body with “very visible wounds” in a vacant suite of the apartment, said Sheriff Dolph Bryan at the time of the slaying.
Bryan would not specify the nature of the wounds nor their location on Galanis body, nor would he comment on whether there were visible signs a struggle had taken place inside the apartment.
Sheriff’s Department officials did confirm late last week that preliminary autopsy results showed that Galanis died from head trauma.
Batiste was immediately taken into custody and questioned the night of the murder. Bryan would not comment on whether Batiste gave a statement to deputies confessing to Galanis’ death.
Under state law, a capital murder charge is filed against a suspect if the slaying was committed while in the act of another felony crime. Bryan said the other crime involved in Galanis’ slaying was robbery, but would not comment over the specific circumstances or events of the robbery.
Bryan has declined to comment on whether Galanis and Batiste had been involved in any type of ongoing conflict that might have led to a robbery taking place.
However, a friend of Galanis, Matt Sfirakis, told a Gulf coast newspaper in the days after the slaying that Galanis was concerned about thousands of dollars missing from his bank account.
Sfirakis said that Galanis spoke with him March 6 — the day before his death — and that he had gone to the bank to get money for his Florida trip only to learn that between $3,000 and $5,000 was missing from his account.
A bank official told Galanis that the money had been withdrawn via ATM and in payments to restaurants and casinos, Sfirakis said.
Sfirakis said Galanis had received a new ATM card and pin number in December, but left it on his bedroom desk. Galanis said he never uses the ATM card, Sfirakis said.
Born in Greece, Galanis moved with his family to the United States when he was a year old. His family lived in New York and Florida before moving to the Gulf Coast 11 years ago. He was majoring in construction and land development management at MSU.
If convicted on the capital murder charge, Batiste could be sentenced to life in prison without parole or to be executed.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 02 August 2008 )
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