ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A man convicted on a murder charge was mistakenly released from the Clayton County Jail, according to Tasha Mosley, Clayton County district attorney.

Kathan Guzman was convicted on a felony murder charge in October 2024 in connection to the death of his girlfriend Delila Grayson, 19. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

“To me it just opens up the wound again, and it really just freshens it over again,” said Christina Grayson, the mother of the victim.

“It was one thing to lose her, another thing for the conviction, but it was another thing to mistakenly let her killer walk free,” Grayson said Thursday in an interview with WKMG, a CBS affiliate in Orlando, Florida.

The district attorney’s office was notified on Tuesday that Guzman wasn’t able to be located in the Georgia penal system. The office then checked the jail system and learned that Guzman had been mistakenly released.

Christina Grayson said she was told by Clayton County officials that Guzman was accidentally released after a coding error. The sheriff’s office did not confirm how Guzman was erroneously released on Thursday.

Delila Grayson was found choked to death in a bathtub on Aug. 7, 2022. Guzman was arrested that same day.

“While the management and transport of inmates is outside the scope of the district attorney’s office, we have been advised that every available resource is searching for Guzman. It is my sincere hope that Guzman is quickly re-apprehended and serves every day of his sentence,” Mosley said.

Christina Grayson said local law enforcement is monitoring her house on the off chance Guzman were to return to Florida, where he and Delila met in high school.

“I’m still in fear, utter fear,” said Grayson, who said she simply wants Guzman captured.

Atlanta News First has reached out to Sheriff Levon Allen and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office to learn more.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office did not answer any questions, only saying it’s an “ongoing investigation.”

The U.S. Marshals Service is also involved in the search for Guzman.

“It doesn’t feel like closure anymore,” Christina Grayson said Thursday.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.

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