Hearing for man accused of fatally strangling pregnant Germantown girlfriend delayed

A defense request for a continuance delayed the preliminary hearing in the case of a pregnant East Germantown woman who was allegedly strangled to death by her boyfriend in September.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday morning, Roysce Haynes is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 4.

In a previous NewsWorks story about the case, Atiya Perry’s sister commented that she urged the victim to break away from her boyfriend.

“I wanted her out of this relationship,” Latia Perry wrote. “I wish she would have listened to me, but she [is] in a better place now. May God protect her soul.

The back story

On Sept. 10, probation agents arrived at a tiny one-bedroom efficiency on the 800 block of E. Chelten Ave. to perform a routine check on Haynes.

There, they found the body of Atiya Perry, who investigators believe had been fatally strangled during an argument a day earlier. The 24-year-old woman was pregnant at the time of her death.

Haynes was taken into custody and charged with murder, homicide of an unborn child and abuse of a corpse.

The agents were checking on Haynes in relation to a 2011 case in which he pleaded guilty to simple assault and was given 18 months probation, according to court records that stated aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person charges were withdrawn.

Seven years earlier, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to up to 23 months incarceration and two years probation.