A Georgia man is being retried for allegedly shooting and killing his friend, leaving her body in a park. This is the second trial against Austin Tybre Ford, 22.
A judge had to declare a mistrial on May 1. Jurors convicted Ford of theft by taking, and one count of concealing the death of another, but they deadlocked on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. They could not agree on whether or not he killed Tori Lang, 18.
Ford allegedly told police that Lang had wanted to take her own life. Out of concern, he went with her to Yellow River Park in the city of Stone Mountain on the day she died, he allegedly said.
Ford allegedly claimed that while together at the park, he wrestled a gun from her, and once he got it, he went to hug Lang goodbye. That’s when Ford claims she grabbed the gun back from him and shot herself. Ford allegedly maintained that he freaked out, took the gun, and fled.
After the shooting, someone set Lang’s car on fire, abandoning it at a nature preserve several miles away from the murder scene. Ford allegedly told investigators he did not know how the vehicle caught on fire.
“This demon has to be apprehended,” the victim’s namesake and father Torrey Lang told WAGA-TV before police identified Ford as the alleged killer. “This is the devil. He created hell on Earth for me and my family. This isn’t something you get over. This was my only child, my baby.”
Lang’s family reportedly described her as kindhearted — but that might have made her a target.
“One of the things that I would always try to explain to her is you can’t save everybody,” Lang’s aunt Tamara Lang told WSB-TV. “She was always trying to help her friends. I honestly believe in my heart someone took advantage of my baby.”
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The medical examiner, however, could not determine if Lang died of homicide or suicide.
Austin Ford shot and killed Tori Lang in July 2021, police said. (Mugshot of Ford: Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office; image of Lang: Gwinnett County Police Department)
Lang’s mother, Teresa Lang, told the court that Lang and Ford knew each other throughout high school and dated for a short while, according to WXIA.
Lang missed curfew on July 27, 2021. Her mother testified to looking for her and even driving around Ford’s home to see if she could spot her daughter’s car. She began calling her daughter’s friends — Lang did not have her phone on her.
Ford did not initially pick up, but called back, the mother said. He sounded “shocked” to receive a call from Lang’s phone, Teresa Lang testified.
She told the court that Ford made strange statements, later claiming that her daughter came to his home. He claimed that her daughter was looking for someone to hurt her for $300.
Vanessa Bein contributed to this report.
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