JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville-area teen accused of killing his grandmother, burying her in a shallow grave in his backyard and driving her car to the Canadian border waived his right to a speedy trial in a Duval County court Thursday.
Logan Mott, 15, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 53-year-old Kristina French, his grandmother.
Recommended Videos
Police said he stabbed and shot her in his Neptune Beach home while his father, a corrections officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, was away on vacation. They have not released a motive in the case.
Mott appeared in court Thursday with his hands shackled and answered questions from the judge about his schooling and state of mind.
He said he understood that waiving his right to a speedy trial means it could take some time before the trial gets started. His next pretrial hearing is set for March 27.
One of the attorneys representing the teen is a New York lawyer who took Mott's case for free when Mott was arrested in Buffalo late last year.
Attorney Dominic Saraceno was in Jacksonville on Thursday for Mott's hearing.
“When Logan was in Buffalo, I established a pretty strong relationship with him and his mother, and I gave them my word (that) when the case came to Florida, I would not abandon them,” Saraceno said.
Mott's parents, who are divorced, each declined to comment Thursday.
According to police, Mott repeatedly stabbed and shot French, then buried her in his yard before leaving town in her Dodge Dart.
French was looking after Mott while his father was on vacation. The two of them were reported missing Nov. 22 after Mott's father, Eric Mott, returned to find his home ransacked and empty.
Eric Mott reported that several guns, including his service weapons, were taken from the home.
Days later, police disclosed they had found a body, later identified as French, buried in the home's backyard. The younger Mott was captured that night by border agents near Buffalo, New York.
Prosecutors said three firearms -- including two service weapons that belong to Mott's father -- and a bloody knife were found inside French's car when her grandson was arrested.
Mott was initially charged only with stealing French's car. Then, a judge signed an arrest warrant Nov. 28 charging the teen with murder in his grandmother's death.
Mott is being held in isolation, housed in a 90-square-foot cell at the Duval County jail, where his father holds the rank of lieutenant.
Mott, an insulin-dependent diabetic, is allowed one hour of recreation daily, but authorities said he does that alone.
Carrie Campbell-Mott, Mott's mother, who lives in Missouri, has expressed concern over how her son is being treated by the Sheriff's Office.