Lovejoy rape suspect Rakheen Byrd makes first appearance

The man charged with beating a woman for hours with a cast iron skillet will be held in jail without bond.

Rakheen Byrd went before a judge Saturday on charges stemming from the brutal rape and torture a Lovejoy woman last weekend.

In court Saturday, Byrd appeared nervous and preoccupied. His eyes kept darting between the judge and the FOX 5 camera in the courtroom.

Byrd appeared to listen quietly as the judge told him that with his extensive criminal history he will be held without bond.

Last Saturday, police say Byrd showed up at the victim's home uninvited. The woman had only met Byrd just a few days earlier.

They say he choked her and hit her with a cast iron skillet. Over the course of several hours, she was beaten unconscious multiple times.

Police say they caught up with Byrd on Thursday in Spalding County. He was driving the victim's car.

According to state records, Byrd has severed two different sentences in prison. The first was on theft and burglary convictions shortly after he tued 18. The second was for an aggravated assault conviction.

The 27-year-old man was out of prison, on parole for just four months before facing these new charges.

FOX 5 spoke with the victim by phone following the first appearance. She says that she will rest easy as long as Byrd remains behind bars. She says she hopes to get out of the hospital soon, but says she can not go home.

Doctors say that physically she will be okay, despite having suffered several fractured ribs and a head injury.