Jurors begin deliberations in cold-case racial murder trial

Source: Associated Press

Updated 5:12 pm, Monday, June 25, 2018

GRIFFIN, Ga. (AP) — Jury deliberations are to continue Tuesday in the murder trial of a white Georgia man who's accused in what prosecutors called the racist slaying of a black man in 1983.

News outlets report jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon. Frank Gebhardt is accused of killing Timothy Coggins, who witnesses said was stabbed 30 times and dragged behind a pickup truck.

Coggins' body was found in Spalding County on Oct. 5, 1983. Prosecutors have said Coggins was killed because he was dating a white woman. The case remained unsolved for decades.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the jury of 10 whites and two blacks met for about an hour before leaving for the day.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Jurors-begin-deliberations-in-cold-case-racial-13025035.php

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Past catches up with 2 men accused of dragging black man to death in 1983
NATION-WORLD By Christian Boone, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Posted: 10:14 p.m. Thursday, November 30, 2017

GRIFFIN, Ga. —
Two Georgia men charged with dragging a black man behind a pick-up truck more than three decades ago boasted repeatedly to multiple witnesses about the brutal killing.

Timothy Coggins was found dead on Oct. 9, 1983, in a grassy area near a power line along Highway 19, roughly 30 miles southeast of Atlanta. The 23-year-old was stabbed 29 times and two of his teeth were knocked out after he was dragged behind a truck, bound by a chain, Spalding County prosecutor Marie Broder said in court Thursday.

William Moore Sr. and Frank Gebhardt were arrested and charged with murder last month based on their claims to friends and family and witnesses who spotted them with Coggins the night he disappeared. One witness overheard Moore say he “missed the good ol’ days when you could kill a black man for no reason,” testified GBI Special Agent Jared Coleman, who said the slaying was racially motivated.

More:
https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/national/past-catches-with-men-accused-dragging-black-man-death-1983/SPtAu3ZFtcqGLW3XBKnZGP/

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Prosecutor: Black man dragged behind truck for ‘socializing with a white female’
By Nelson Helm ...

Posted: 6:52 p.m. Wednesday, November 01, 2017

GRIFFIN, Ga. —
Disturbing new details emerged in a racially charged Georgia murder that languished unsolved for more than three decades.

was killed after “socializing with a white female,” a prosecutor said Wednesday, adding that the Spalding County man was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck.

The revelations in the 34-year-old case came as Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ben Coker argued Wednesday that the two men charged with killing Coggins should be denied bond.

Coggins, 23, was found with stab wounds and had lacerations on his neck, back and stomach. He also received blunt force trauma. Coggins was dragged through the woods while tied to a truck, Coker said.

More:
https://www.myajc.com/news/prosecutor-says-black-man-killed-for-socializing-with-white-female/On7EwB2Tf8gpBGEhCRrPVJ/

https://democraticunderground.com/10141926791#post2

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Rest in Peace, Timothy Coggins.