2022 YIR: New Trial Date for Alleged Murderer Not Confirmed
Marlene Colon was murdered in April 2021 at her Sandy Springs home.
In August 2022, the family of murdered Sandy Springs resident Marlene D. Colon was told that the trial for her alleged murderer would be rescheduled for Feb. 6, 2023. Now they are hearing that a new trial date “has not yet been confirmed,” according to son, Jonathan Colon. “We can only hope that justice will prevail sooner [rather] than later.”
A popular fitness instructor, Colon, 73, was murdered in her Sandy Springs house on Fawndale Way, April 5, 2021. Awaiting trial in Superior Court of Fulton County is Chelci Chisholm, also known as Malka Padalon, an Israeli who apparently had been living in Colon’s house for a few weeks, according to Sandy Springs police. Police reported that Colon was hit with a blunt object. Chisholm has been charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Her Israeli driver’s license, provided by the police, indicated that Chisholm was born in 1962.
Sandy Springs police found the body of Colon, and Chisholm, at the house after receiving a 911 call. Chisholm has been in police custody since she was arrested. Her first court appearance was on April 7 when she was denied bond. She pled not guilty in front of Judge Ural Glanville in a brief arraignment Jan. 31, 2022.
“The court process is everchanging and everlasting,” said Colon, who has followed the proceedings closely. In August, he told the AJT that he understood that the trial could get pushed into the summer of 2023. “We want justice for our mom so she can rest in peace, and we can move on with our lives.”
In addition to Jonathan, Marlene Colon had another son, Loren, grandchildren, Matthew, and Julianne, and more than a dozen first cousins, some of whom live in Atlanta.
Her family is trying to be patient with the justice system and wait for the justice they seek. “We know it is still a long road ahead with the legal system,” said Jonathan Colon.
Colon was a popular aqua aerobics and Zumba instructor at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and the Breman Jewish Home. Her license plate read ZUMBA4U. She particularly enjoyed working with the elderly and children with disabilities.
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