Jail workers who ‘weren’t paying attention’ let a man who murdered his girlfriend free. He’s been on the run for weeks

A man sentenced to life in prison for strangling his girlfriend to death has been mistakenly released from a county jail before he could be transferred to prison – leaving his victim’s family ‘petrified.’

Kathan Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in October after a jury convicted him of killing his 19-year-old girlfriend, Delila Grayson, in August 2022. Now, he’s been on the run for two weeks after the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office mistakenly released him from their custody on March 25, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen tells local outlet WSB-TV that the error stemmed from his staff not paying attention and a lack of training.

Allen said his staff looked at a court document that showed a motion to not prosecute, leading them to release him. If staff had looked closer, Allen explained, they would have seen that motion only applied to a necrophilia charge, and he was in fact convicted of murder and aggravated assault by a jury last year.

Delila Grayson’s mother, Christina Grayson, told WSB-TV the sheriff’s office doesn’t “know what’s going on or where he is.”

“And this is the problem: I have not seen a ‘Wanted’ nothing,” she added. “I have not seen an alert or nothing. They have not alerted anyone.”

Allen told WSB-TV they believe Guzman is back in Florida, where he’s from. Christina Grayson also lives in Florida and said she’s now concerned about the safety of herself and others.

“Considering seeing what he did to Delilah, I would say that the public is in imminent danger,” she told local outlet 11Alive.

“How does this happen?” she added. “I am petrified for my life. I mean, obviously, a life didn’t mean a thing to him.”

The sheriff’s office has not shared information about Guzman’s release on social media as of Thursday morning. The agency also hasn’t put out any news releases about the situation as of Wednesday night, the Journal-Constitution reports.

District Attorney Tasha Mosley released a statement on the incident Thursday afternoon, noting the search is “outside the scope” of her office. Mosley’s office is in contact with Christina Grayson, she added.

“It is my sincere hope that Guzman is quickly re-apprehended and serves every day of his life sentence,” Mosley wrote.

Dr. Alieka Anderson-Henry, chair of the Clayton County Commission, said the incident shows the sheriff’s department’s “negligence” and noted the public should’ve been told sooner, according to WSB-TV.

Christina Grayson told WSB-TV Guzman’s release adds more pain to her grief, especially after her husband died by suicide on the anniversary of their daughter’s death.

“How does this happen? How? I’m not getting a clear answer,” she said.

The Independent has contacted the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office and Guzman’s attorney for comment.

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