Joseph Griffin, 49, the Mansfield man killed Christmas Eve in Afghanistan, was honored with a hero's escort Monday afternoon, when members of the Newton County Sheriff's Office, the Patriot Guard, Henry County Sheriff's Office, Covington and Newton County Fire and EMS and others escorted his body from Atlanta to Covington. 

Griffin once worked as a deputy with the Newton County Sheriff's Office, first from 1996 until 2000 and again in 2007. He was in Afghanistan as a military veteran advising the Afghan National Police when he was murdered by a policewoman. Griffin was contracting through DynCorp International when he was killed. He had worked in several of the company's global training and mentoring programs since 2000 and began his most recent assignment in July 2011. He had worked in Kosovo, Liberia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Griffin's funeral will be held at Wheeler's Funeral Home on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m.