Sarah Grace Patrick murder trial delayed over new evidence concerns

Judge Dustin Hightower was asked to halt Sarah Grace Patrick’s murder trial after Shawn Hoover told the Carroll County Superior Court that an officer’s hunch had sent investigators down a path the defense is only now learning about. Hoover said he needed more time before jury selection, which had been set for Aug. 3, because he had just taken over the case and had to assemble a new team.

Patrick, now 18, was 16 when prosecutors say she shot and killed her mother and stepfather, James Brock and Kristin Brock, in their home in Carroll County, Georgia, on Feb. 20, 2025. She called 911 after the killings and told the operator that the couple’s 6-year-old daughter had found the bodies. Patrick has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault, and prosecutors allege that she shot both victims while they slept.

The continuance request centered on what Hoover called newly surfaced evidence problems, including chain-of-custody concerns and a firearm that might have been used in the shooting. Hoover said an officer in the case, who did not even write a report, had a hunch that a gun had been pawned. That gun was then tested and returned to its owner, he said, and the defense did not know other people or the test existed. Hoover suggested the loose ends could point to another weapon being involved.

Carroll County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor Michael Parrish pushed back hard, telling the court the police work was routine and not evidence of misconduct. He said the case was still ready to proceed and argued that it is normal for some evidence to surface late in the process. Judge Hightower said he wanted to review the full record and prior transcripts before ruling.

Patrick turned herself in in July 2025, was indicted in August 2025, and has been held without bond since then. A judge denied bond again in January 2026, and the indictment includes eight counts, among them malice murder and felony murder.