Roger Sterling
JF-Expert Member
- May 10, 2015
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Summary.
At around 8:05 am on Saturday, August 29, 2009, police received a 911 call from a 22-year-old man, Guy Heinze, Jr., claiming that his whole family was dead. On arrival at the trailer park, they found seven people dead, 19-year-old Michael Toler, died the following day in hospital. On September 8, police stated that the victims had been beaten with a blunt instrument. They believe that only one person committed the crime. Autopsies showed they suffered more than 220 wounds combined and each died from skull and brain injuries.
The suspected murder weapon was the barrell of a shot gun, it has never been found.
Police believe that Guys motive was that "he wanted a bottle of prescription drugs of Michael Toler, got into a confrontation with Russell Toler, and killed the rest to avoid getting caught." Police believe Heinze killed Rusty with the barrel of a shotgun in the closet of the bedroom they shared because Heinze wanted to take a bottle of painkillers prescribed to one of Toler's sons.
On October 25, 2013, Heinze was convicted of all eight murders and sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
His employer at the time of the deaths testified he was a "model employee who always appeared for work and wanted to work weekends".
His Grandmother stated he was "never a confrontational person".
Guy had never been in any trouble with law enforcement for 22 whole years, no violent history.
Heinze's lead defense attorney, Newell Hamilton Jr., told the jury it was hard to believe Heinze would kill eight people he loved over a bottle of "weak painkillers." Two defense experts testified there must have been more than one killer in the house. A former police detective estimated three to five attackers committed the killings. Heinze told police he was out all night and found the bodies when he returned home after dawn.
Blood on Heinze's shorts, undershorts and shoes was matched to four of the victims, though none was found on his shirt, hands or face. A defense expert testified the blood was smeared, not spattered, indicating it must have gotten on Heinze's clothes when he found the bodies hours after the killings rather than as they were being committed.
On 24th March, 2014, parts of the trial were included in a televised UK BBC3 documentary called 'Life and Death Row'.
Guy Heinze Jr., Ga. man, guilty of killing father and 7 others in mobile home but won't get death penalty - CBS News
Guy Heinze, Wrongfully Convicted For Murdering 8 Of His Family Members! - CNN iReport