Henderson family pleads for justice ahead of third trial for accused killer
Family rebuts murder suspect's jailhouse interview
A Newnan family has fired back after the man who killed their son has been granted a new trial for a second time and wants bond. Murder suspect Alan Dennis did a jailhouse interview with FOX 5. The victim's family sat down to tell their side of this story.
ATLANTA - The family of Michael Henderson is reacting to a FOX 5 exclusive jailhouse interview with accused murderer Alan Dennis.
Dennis has been convicted of murder twice and has had his verdict overturned twice. He spoke with FOX 5 reporter Aungelique Proctor about his wish to be released from the Fulton County Jail ahead of his third trial.
Andre Henderson and Michelle Walker are the parents of shooting victim Michael Henderson. They are upset that for more than a decade they have not been able to heal because their son's accused killer keeps popping up with a new story.
"It upsets me to hear what he was saying and to know that it wasn't true," his father said.
Henderson and his brother, Andre, were at a Union City gas station back in 2013 when the 22-year-old was shot by murder suspect Alan Dennis
Dennis told FOX 5 this week he saw a gun during that confrontation. It is something that both his parents said is not true.
"Talking about my sons had firearms. When everything had been investigated through the whole trial, they never found any firearms on him. They never found anything," Ms. Walker affirmed.
"He's still telling more lies," Michael's father insisted.
Dennis said during both his murder trials, in 2016 and 2019, the attorneys he hired were ill-prepared. In an almost unprecedented situation, two different judges agreed with Dennis and overturned his murder convictions.
The most recent was Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melynee Leftwich, who ordered a new trial in October 2022 citing "ineffective assistance of counsel."
Dennis' new attorney says she has new witnesses who will back up his claims of self-defense.
Michael's parents say the back-and-forth of the last 11 years has made them weary.
"We feel like we are on trial. For him to say that he's the victim and my sons are...the criminals, makes no sense when we've been through trial and trial again," Ms. Walker shared
"It angers me more because the system is supposed to work for us," Mr. Henderson pleaded.
Michael's parents say they did not even know about the bond hearing on May 1 until they saw it on our newscast.
The DA's office says it will oppose bond and try the murder case for a third time.