GRIFFIN, Ga. -- Frankie Gebhardt, 59, has been found guilty of all charges for his role in the death of a Spalding County black man.
Gebhardt is one of two men accused in the brutal 1983 murder of 23-year-old Timothy Coggins in what prosecutors described as a racially-charged incident. Spalding County Darrell Dix said Coggins was murdered after he had socialized with a white woman.
After seven days of testimony that included 20 witnesses and more than 160 pieces of evidence, jurors found him guilty of the following charges:
- Malice murder - GUILTY
- Felony murder - GUILTY
- Aggravated battery - GUILTY
- Aggravated assault - GUILTY
- Concealing the death of another - GUILTY
The judge sentenced him to life in prison, plus 30 years to serve concurrently.
Coggins' body was found near a set of power lines in the town of Sunny Side, north of Griffin on Oct. 5, 1983. Courtroom testimony said Coggins had been beaten, stabbed and dragged behind a vehicle before being left for dead.
Investigators said the murder remained unsolved for years. In 2017, after receiving new leads, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reopened the case culminating in five arrests, including a detention officer from Spalding County and a police officer from the town of Milner, Ga., located to the south of Griffin, in neighboring Lamar County.
The Spalding County Sheriff's Office charged Gebhardt and 58-year-old Bill Moore, Sr. with murder. Milner Police Officer Lamar Bunn, his mother Sandra Bunn and Spalding County Detention Officer Gregory Huffman were each charged with obstruction.
A Spalding County court severed Gebhardt and Moore's murder cases, allowing the two men to be tried separately.
On Monday, Spalding County District Attorney Benjamin Coker told the jury during closing arguments that over the past 34 years evidence was lost and he was sorry he could not present crucial items to the jury, but he said Gebhardt's admissions to witnesses over the years helped preserve the case.
Defense attorneys said the state's case has too many holes and inconsistencies.
Gebhardt's attorney, Larkin Lee, argued the state has not proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He insisted there is no proof of physical evidence that was presented to the jury -- including a knife -- that actually came from the murder. They were found among piles of trash in a well on Gebhardt's property. Lee says that could simply be trash.
"It is their burden to come in here and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt and he can't help it," Lee said. "He can't help that they lost evidence; he can't help that they conducted a bad investigation. He can't help that. It isn't his fault."
Defense attorneys said some witnesses have added to their stories over the years and since several of them are in prison, they could be hoping for deals on their sentences in exchange for helping the state.
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