Cold Cases in Georgia
ColdCaseIndex documents 23 cold cases in Georgia, spanning 1965–2024. 7 of these cases remain fully unsolved. Each case page includes documented details, status, and information on how to submit a tip.
By Type
By Status
All Georgia Cases
Laken Riley
Twenty-two-year-old UGA nursing student Laken Riley was murdered while jogging on campus. Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally, was convicted. The case became politically charged.
Ahmaud Arbery
Ahmaud Arbery was chased and shot dead while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia by three white men. The case sparked national outrage over racial violence. All three were convicted of murder.
Ahmaud Arbery (Glynn County detail)
The original Glynn County DA Jackie Johnson was indicted for showing favoritism to the McMichaels due to Greg McMichael's work in her office. She was convicted of violating her oath.
King Von
Chicago rapper King Von (Dayvon Bennett) was shot and killed outside an Atlanta nightclub during a shootout between rival groups. Timothy Leeks was charged with his murder.
Tamla Horsford
Tamla Horsford, a Black mother of five, was found dead at a sleepover party at a white friend's home in Cumming, Georgia. Her death was ruled accidental but her family disputes this.
Kendrick Johnson
Kendrick Johnson, a 17-year-old student, was found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat in the gymnasium at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, in January 2013. Investigators ruled the death an accident by positional as
Tiffany Michelle Whitton
Tiffany Whitton, a 26-year-old mother, was last seen on security video running barefoot out of a Walmart in Marietta, Georgia, in the early hours of September 13, 2013, after a suspected shoplifting incident. She left be
Lauren Giddings
Lauren Giddings, a 27-year-old Mercer University law graduate, was strangled and dismembered in her Macon, Georgia, apartment in June 2011. Her neighbor and former classmate Stephen McDaniel pleaded guilty to murder in 2
Nique Leili
Nique Leili disappeared from Buford, Georgia. Her remains were found two years later in Lake Lanier. Her husband Matt Leili was convicted of malice murder in 2019 despite no clear cause of death, in a largely circumstant
Chris Benoit Family Murders
Professional wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and seven-year-old son Daniel in their Fayetteville, Georgia home over a weekend, then hung himself. Investigators found evidence of severe CTE (chronic traumati
Tara Grinstead
Tara Grinstead, a 30-year-old high school history teacher and former beauty queen, vanished from her home in Ocilla, Georgia, in October 2005. The case went cold for more than a decade until 2017 arrests; Ryan Duke was a
Patrice Endres
Patrice Endres, a 38-year-old salon owner, vanished from her Cumming, Georgia, business within a roughly 13-minute window in 2004. Her skeletal remains were found in Dawson County in 2005, but her murder remains unsolved
Jason Johnson (Camoflauge)
Rapper Jason Johnson, known as Camoflauge, was shot and killed in Savannah, Georgia near his car. He was found by his young daughter. Despite a reward offered for information, his murder remains unsolved. He was known fo
Tara Baker (Georgia)
UGA law student Tara Baker was found murdered in her Athens apartment. The case went cold for 22 years until DNA genealogy identified her killer as Michael Daquon Polite in 2023.
Tara Louise Baker
Tara Louise Baker, a 23-year-old University of Georgia law student, was killed in her Athens apartment in 2001, the crime concealed by an intentionally set fire. The cold case was cracked by DNA in 2024, and Edrick Lamon
Levi Frady
Levi Frady, an 11-year-old boy, disappeared while riding his bike home in Forsyth County, Georgia, in 1997 and was found shot to death the next day in Dawson Forest. The case remains unsolved and inspired the creation of
Shannon Melendi
Shannon Melendi, a 19-year-old Emory University student, was abducted from a DeKalb County softball complex in 1994 and never seen again. Umpire Colvin "Butch" Hinton was convicted of her murder in 2005 and later confess
Lita McClinton Sullivan
Lita McClinton Sullivan, an Atlanta socialite, was shot dead at her Buckhead townhouse in January 1987 by a hit man disguised as a flower delivery man, on the day of a divorce hearing. Her estranged husband, James Sulliv
Atlanta Child Murders Victims
At least 28 young Black children and adults were murdered in Atlanta between 1979 and 1981, causing citywide panic. Wayne Williams was convicted of two adult murders and sentenced to life. Authorities attributed the chil
Wayne Williams Conviction Review
Wayne Williams was convicted in 1982 of two adult murders during the Atlanta Child Murders era. Atlanta police attributed most of the child deaths to him despite no direct evidence. In 2019, Atlanta reopened the investig
Kyle Clinkscales
Kyle Clinkscales, a 22-year-old Auburn University student, vanished while driving from LaGrange, Georgia, back to campus in 1976. His car and skeletal remains were finally found in an Alabama creek in 2021 and identified
Barbara Jane Mackle
Barbara Jane Mackle, daughter of a wealthy developer, was kidnapped from an Emory University motel room and buried alive in a ventilated box. Her captors Gary Steven Krist and Ruth Eisemann-Schier demanded ransom. She wa
Mary Shotwell Little
Mary Shotwell Little, a 25-year-old newlywed bank secretary, vanished on October 14, 1965, from the Lenox Square shopping center in Atlanta. Her bloodstained car was found the next day, and her credit card was later used