Tip gave 'vital info that was missing link' in 1983 murder investigation

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — After 34 years, a family is finally getting justice and a sheriff’s investigation is just beginning into the murder of a man in Spalding County.

Timothy Coggins was found dead under power lines on a dirt road in 1983. Coggins died of multiple forms of trauma, authorities said. The sheriff said after an exhaustive investigation, the case went cold.

But after new evidence and new interviews surfaced, deputies and the GBI announced Friday they arrested 5 people in Coggins' murder.

"It was some vital information that was like the missing link in the chain that bridged one part of the story to the other part of the story," Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said.

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Grankie Gebhardt, 59, and Bill Moore, 58, are accused in what Dix calls a "racially-motivated crime."

"Back in 1983, they had reputations of being rough, and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that so many people were afraid to come forward and talk about what happened. They were afraid something might happen to them," Dix said.

Coggins' niece told Channel 2's Aaron Diamant that her family is grateful for the arrests, but said it is bringing back painful memories.

“The grieving starts all over again,” Heather Coggins said.

The sheriff told Diamant that there will be more facts to come out and more arrests are expected.

"We grieved 34 years ago. We learned to deal with it unsolved all these years, and we're still learning to deal with it. Now, we're grieving all over again because the memories are comign back," Heather Coggins said.

Cox Media Group