Hall County death penalty trial to begin for Jessica Motes

HALL COUNTY, Ga. - Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning in the murder trial of a woman accused of killing a 4-year-old child in Hall County.

What we know:

Jessica Motes, 36, is accused of murder in the death of Autumn Fox, 4, in October 2025. According to arrest warrants, Motes caused the girl's death through blunt force trauma and exposed the child to a mixture of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and xylazine. Investigators also claim Motes tried to hide the body.

Prosecutors previously offered Motes a deal of life without parole, but she turned it down. Jury selection is set to start at 9 a.m. at the Hall County Courthouse in Gainesville.

What they're saying:

Criminal defense attorney Joshua Schiffer, who is not involved in the case, told FOX 5 that the speed of this prosecution is unusual.

"It's almost unheard of for a full death penalty prosecution to be commencing this quickly after the incident date," Schiffer said.

He noted that the state is moving quickly because the case is "discreet and small," which puts extra pressure on the defense team.

Schiffer also explained that jury selection will be more complicated because many people have moral objections to the death penalty.

What we don't know:

While the trial is moving forward quickly, it is not yet clear how many potential jurors will be called or how long the jury selection process is expected to last given the complexities of a death penalty case.