When Timothy Coggins made the decision to spend the evening at the People’s Choice pub in Griffin, Georgia, he had no idea of the tragic events that were to unfold before him. Although he was reported missing that evening, it took authorities two days to determine that the mutilated body found in Sunny Side, Spalding County belonged to him. Crime Junkies’ documentary ‘Captured: Timothy Coggins Killer(s)’ recounts the horrific crime and shows how the prosecution was able to bring the culprits to justice some 34 years after the event. If you are interested in this investigation and want to know the current whereabouts of those responsible for the crime, we have you covered.
Timothy Coggins
How did Timothy Coggins die?
At the time of his death, Timothy Coggins was 23 and living in Griffin, Georgia with his family. When he was killed, he was found dead. He was very close to his mother and seven other siblings, all of whom shared a great bond with him. He had a strong bond with those close to him. Timothy was described by those who knew him as a young man who had a big heart, was grounded in reality, loved serving others and had ambitious goals and dreams for his future. On the other hand, he was totally unaware that a seemingly innocuous evening spent in a bar would kill him.
On October 8, 1983, Timothy made the decision to spend the evening at the People’s Choice pub in Griffin, Georgia, where he planned to spend a relaxed night and looked forward to it. Interestingly, his friend Jesse Gates, who worked for the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, drove him to the pub. On top of that, as Jesse was dropping Timothy off, he spotted a number of white men hanging around the pub, which seemed odd to Jesse. Jesse was unaware that this would be the last time he would see Timothy, who would disappear shortly after this encounter. Timothy was 23 at the time.
On October 9, 1983, officers from the Spalding County Police Department located Timothy’s deceased corpse in the Sunny Side section of the county. According to the podcast, Sunny Side was a predominantly white neighborhood, so the discovery of a black victim there came as a shock to authorities. Additionally, based on the looks of things, Timothy was subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings, before being murdered by being stabbed multiple times. Even further, the attackers etched a symbol into his belly that resembled the Confederate battle flag. An autopsy was performed afterwards and the results revealed that the stab wounds were the cause of Timothy’s death.
Who Killed Timothy Coggins?
Unfortunately, the investigation into Timothy’s murder proved incredibly difficult due to the fact that the police had no leads or witnesses to work with. Authorities conducted a thorough investigation of the crime scene and even surveyed the surrounding area, but their efforts were in vain. Even Timothy’s relatives and friends were perplexed by the situation as they did not understand why anyone would want to harm such a gentle spirit. Moreover, despite the fact that the form of the murder gave the impression that it was motivated by bias, authorities found no evidence pointing them to a likely suspect.
During the initial phase of the investigation, local law enforcement was inundated with a significant number of tips; however, all of these reports turned out to be false leads, and investigators found themselves starting from scratch. The investigation was suspended for a number of years and quickly became a “cold case” as no progress was made on the case during this time. In fact, it was noted in the podcast that even Timothy’s family had given up on their dreams of closure and had no idea if the person responsible for his death would ever be prosecuted. Nevertheless, in 2016, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation decided to reopen the investigation into the case.
The mission to identify and apprehend the killer has been assigned to Special Agent Jared Coleman. After receiving the case, Jared searched the evidence files and came to the conclusion that he needed to interview everyone connected to the murder. The confession by Franklin Gebhardt and William “Bill” Moore Sr., Franklin Gebhardt’s brother-in-law, that they were responsible for the murder of a black man was his first major break in the case. The podcast claims Franklin and William were both incarcerated when they made their confession to another prisoner, who then reported their statements to authorities.
The investigation went smoothly from then on, as additional witnesses came forward and authorities quickly gathered enough evidence to arrest Franklin and William. Additionally, Gregory Huffman, who worked as a detention officer, was detained for obstruction of justice, while Franklin’s sister, Sandra Bunn, and nephew, Lamar Bunn, were arrested for helping the accused flee. the law.
Murder of Timothy Coggins
Where are Franklin Gebhardt and William Moore Sr. now?
After being brought before the judge, Franklin was found guilty of a number of offenses including concealing the death of another person, aggravated assault, aggravated assault and two counts of malicious murder. As a direct result of this, the judge handed him a life sentence in addition to an additional thirty years in 2018. In contrast, William pleaded guilty the same year to both covering up the death of another person and for willfully manslaughter. As a result, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison plus an additional 10 years of probation for his crimes.
As a result, Franklin continues to serve his sentence at Georgia State Diagnostic and Classification Prison, located in the unincorporated portion of Butts County, Georgia. On the other side, William was incarcerated at Augusta State Medical Prison in Augusta, Georgia until his death in October 2021.
