The mother of the convicted killer mistakenly released from a Georgia jail is sharing her side of the story after he was taken back into custody Friday morning by U.S. Marshals in her Ocoee home.
Kathan Guzman is now in the Orange County jail. His mother, Iris Guzman, says she picked him up from the Clayton County, Georgia, jail after he called her.
Guzman was released on March 27th. They stayed in Georgia until that Saturday. She says on paper,r he was a free man.
“Here he is being ripped out of our lives again. He gave himself to you, he turned himself in, and you let him back out,” said Iris Guzman.
During a tearful one-on-one conversation Iris Guzman says she believed her son was a free man. They were working on restarting his life and get him an ID before U.S. Marshals showed up at her home.
“Just a regular day talking about getting documents together to go get and before I knew it my house was surrounded, my house was rushed, my family traumatized all because of someone else’s mistake,” said Guzman.
Guzman shared a picture of a document showing her son Kathan Guzman’s release on March 27. She says when she went to Clayton County, Georgia to pick him up—she called several times to make sure it was right.
“I contacted the sheriff’s department and made sure, hey do you guys have the right person. I was quickly brushed off by somebody responding me ma’am we just get a paper that says they’re going home and they go home,” said Guzman.
The Clayton County sheriff says training and people not paying attention led to Guzman’s release—a mistake Guzman says her son should not have to pay for.
He’s a good kid. He’s a good kid. He’s being painted out to be a monster, and he’s not that,” said Guzman.
Guzman was sentenced to life in prison for strangling and killing his girlfriend, Delila Grayson, in 20-22. She acknowledges something bad happened and another family is hurting. She says her son confessed then and again went willingly when taken into custody.
“He was never a threat. He gave himself up just as easily as he did the first time,” said Guzman.
The other mother, grieving, says she’s still uneasy but glad he’s back behind bars.
“I can’t take the dogs out before the daylight comes out. So, it’s almost like me being in prison instead of him being in prison. Now, I’m free. The cuffs are off,” said Christina Grayson.
Guzman will be extradited to Georgia. His mother says she doesn’t want him to go there. She says she’s going to start fighting for him to get mental health help.
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