Murdered girl Candice Parchment’s diary leads to suspect

Police in Clayton County have charged a teen for the murder of a 15 year old girl after going through her diary. The victim, Candice Parchment, kept a diary which was only discovered by her mother Caffian Hyatt as she packed for a move. In the diary, Hyatt found the names of two teenage boys.

The diary shows that the teens pulled Candice into a house and tried to rape her. They then threatened her. She never reported the incident, but she wrote about it. Hyatt handed the diary over to Clayton County police, who found a teen referenced in it named Marshae Hickman. He was locked up in the Clayton County Jail on a burglary charge. According to the affidavit, Hickman, 19, confessed to strangling Parchment and hiding her body under a mattress. Hyatt said she's not sure yet if his arrest will bring closure.

"It's over a year. It's almost two years. This pain never goes away," she said.

Hyatt still does not know why her daughter left home the night of April 28. In hindsight, she said she would have gone through her daughter's things immediately if she knew a diary existed. She told Napier Viteri she wants to know why Hickman hurt her daughter. She also wants him to know what he has taken from her family.

"I will never get to see her. I will never get to have grandchildren through her, see the woman she would have become," Hyatt said.

Hickman is charged with murder and concealing a death. He is scheduled to appear in court next week.