A fisherman noticed the body near a boat landing at the Luxapalila Creek Recreation Area off Highway 69.
A trail of blood led from a nearby bathroom to the creek bank.
It was the morning of Sept. 17, at around 10:30.
And it was the first in a trio of killings that put Columbus on tilt in September.
The body was later identified as 34-year-old Alfonso Lathan Jr. of Columbus. Authorities said he appeared to have been shot to death.
Two more shooting deaths followed on Sept. 18 and 22.
A motorist found the body of Tedd Thomas Wood on Sept. 18 near the Sandpiper Apartments in the 300 block of Eighth Street North in Columbus. Wood was 35 and lived in Columbus; his body was found at about 1:30 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds.
On Sept. 22, William “Willie” Vaughn of Columbus died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Vaughn, 41, of Columbus, was shot near the intersection of 27th Street and Sixth Avenue North at around 10:45 p.m.
Lowndes County Corner Greg Merchant reported Vaughn was gunned down near his Northside Columbus home.
All three homicides are unsolved.
But investigators are getting closer, Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen said.
And a $5,000 incentive has brought additional information to the forefront.
The Columbus City Council passed a resolution Sept. 28 to offer a $5,000 award to those who give investigators information that leads to an arrest and conviction in any of the three homicide cases.
“We’re getting leads and we’re following leads,” McQueen said.
Investigations are further along since the reward was offered, he said.
Police have identified multiple persons of interest though no arrests have been made.
“I’m not worried about making a quick arrest,” McQueen said. “I’m worried about getting a conviction.
“My philosophy is do it 100 percent right the first time,” he added. “You hear about cases all across the country where they arrest the wrong person. I don’t want to just make an arrest and have it be someone who is innocent.”
No homicides have been reported in Lowndes County since Vaughn was killed.
Still, McQueen wants to focus on getting the cases solved.
His goal is to bring closure to all the unsolved homicides that have happened in the city over the past few decades.
“We’re one piece away for at least two of them,” he said, referring to homicide cases from years ago. He declined to give details on the cases.
He also refuses to refer to investigations as cold cases.
“There is no such animal as a cold case unless leads or information stops coming in,” he said.
The reward for information leading to an arrest in the three September murders remains on the table, McQueen said, and he hopes the right information comes in.
With the right piece of evidence, he said, investigators would stop everything to close the murder cases.
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