GRIFFIN, Ga. — The trial of a racially-motivated murder that happened decades ago is finally able to proceed, after the judge finally seated a jury Tuesday.
Timothy Coggins was murder more than 20 years ago in October 1983 after socializing with a white woman. His killing remained unsolved for decades. But late last year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reopened its investigation after receiving new leads.
That's when the Spalding County Sheriff's Office charged Milner Police Officer Lamar Bun, his mother Sandra Bunn and Spalding County Detention Officer Gregory Huffman with obstruction. Murder charges were filed against 59-year-old Frankie Gebhardt and 58-year-old Bill Moore, Sr.
But during the initial stages of the trial, prosecutors hit a snag when only 127 people showed up out of a jury pool of more than 325 people.
"I'm astounded by the lack of response from most of these jurors," Judge Fletcher Sams said during court Monday. "This far less than a 50 percent turnout which is unheard of, but we will proceed the best we can."
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The lackluster showing forced the judge to involve the sheriff's office, whose deputies paid each no-show a personal visit. According to Capt. Dwayne Jones with the Spalding County Sheriff's Office, deputies made contact with the "vast majority" of the jurors who didn't show up, though they didn't give an exact number.
As for why there was such a low turnout among jurors, the sheriff's office couldn't say, though they acknowledge that it was way above the norm. Jones said they have had issues in the past with scammers calling residents' homes, and while he said he didn't think that was behind this situation, there was a scamming incident that happened a couple of weeks ago.
Regardless, the clerk's office said several of Monday's no-shows did report for jury duty Tuesday.
Lawyers were able to seat 15 total jurors, including alternates. The panel includes 11 women and four men. Racially, the jury is made up of two black and 13 white jurors.
Now that a jury is seated, opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday. (Click here for what happened in the first day of court.)
Meanwhile, the start of the trial has Coggins' remaining family members hopeful justice will soon be served. However, they are still struggling to understand why someone would have killed the 23-year-old because of his race.
"You don't want to believe someone is murdered because they choose to speak or befriend someone of a different race when we are all human," Heather Coggins told 11Alive in a previous interview.
PHOTOS | Timothy Coggins murder arrests
Nonetheless, i
t is bringing hope to a family
which, since last fall when arrests were made, has held on to a renewed commitment to make sure Timothy Coggins' story does not disappear.
"Tim's name – we are speaking Tim's name," Heather Coggins said. "He is not forgotten. We are constantly saying Tim or something is coming up about the case. He is not forgotten, so he lives on."
