What Happened Tuesday?

• A swift resolution. Maintenance worker avoided trial and the death penalty in the brutal murder of first-grader Jorelys Rivera as part of an extraordinary plea agreement that included a detailed confession, a guilty plea and a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Before Tuesday's plea, Brunn only had , three days after . A Cherokee County Grand Jury on Jan. 9, 2012, in connection with Jorelys' murder. Usually, the next step in the legal process is an arraignment where a defendant enters a plea, which is why Tuesday was so extraordinary. Officials wasted no time releasing Brunn to the Georgia Department of Corrections.  Roger Garrison sits on its board and made arrangements in "advance for the Department of Corrections to be (at the ) waiting" for Brunn, he told Canton-Sixes Patch late Tuesday. Brunn was officially turned over to officials with the department at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. He was transferred to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

• Why didn't Brunn get the death penalty? In short, Brunn will be a case study. Authorities want to get inside the mind of what GBI director Vernon Keenan called "a sociopathic killer" to aid them in future investigations. "Him receiving life without parole gives law enforcement an opportunity to study him and to learn lessons on how to investigate these type crimes" he said. "This is how we perfect our skills in doing criminal investigations of child murders. If he were on death row, we would not have an opportunity to talk to him. When the state is seeking the death penalty, the focus goes to the defendant and the victim is on the sidelines. In this case, the interests of the victim were in that courtroom today and Brunn was exposed for the monster that he is." Immediately after Brunn's detailed confession and sentencing, GBI agents reinterviewed him at the , Garrison told Canton-Sixes Patch.

• Where can I read more on Tuesday's developments?
  • Breaking news alert: .
  • Initial post-hearing story: .
  • Video clips from courtroom and press conference: .
  • Overview of Tuesday, including Brunn's confession: .
  • For all of Canton-Sixes Patch's coverage of the Jorelys Rivera case from the moment the 7-year-old went missing, go to http://canton-ga.patch.com/topics/jorelys-rivera.

• Other news you might have missed. Though Commissioner Karen Bosch dissented, the  to assist them with improvements to Ridgewalk Parkway, which is near a proposed outlet mall.

• Coming up on Canton-Sixes Patch today. We'll reveal a new today. Return to the site at 2 p.m. to find out who it is.

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