Man pleads guilty in triple murder at Cobb golf course and country club, avoids death penalty

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The man accused of murdering three people at a Cobb County country club has taken a plea deal.

Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against Bryan Rhoden, but with the terms of the plea deal, Rhoden has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murder.

Rhoden killed Gene Siller as well as Henry Valdez, 46, and Paul Pierson, 76, at Pinetree Country Club in July 2021.

According to the district attorney’s office, during a drug trafficking deal in July 2021, Rhoden flipped on his supplier Henry Valdez and his shipper, Paul Pierson.

Prosecutors said with the aid of an accomplice, Rhoden kidnapped the two men and put them in the bed of a Chevy pick-up truck.

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“Henry and Paul are bound and gagged in the back of that truck,” Asst. District Attorney Stephanie Green told the court during sentencing.

Green told the court, Rhoden planned to sink the truck in a pond on the golf course at Pinetree County Club.

Siller, a beloved golf pro at Pinetree County Club, was shot and killed after he walked down to the fairway to see why a truck had gotten stuck.

“We know the defendant executed Gene and then opened the tailgate of the truck to unload the rest of the gunfire on Paul and Henry,” Green said.

After the murders, Green said text messages proved Rhoden went out for drinks with a female friend.

“Casamigos huh? Is that the ‘I just murdered three people’ cocktail of choice?” asked Ashley Siller, the widow of Gene Siller, in court.

After sentencing, the judge heard from several family members about the impact of the murders.

Ashley Siller addressed Rhoden and called him a monster.

“The lack of remorse is so insulting,” Siller said.

She then vowed to keep her husband’s memory alive.

“We will continue as a family to propel forward because that is what we do. We are Siller Strong,” Siller said.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke with Rhoden’s family outside of court, but they declined to comment on the case.

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