Man charged with murder of his mother and stepfather at their Perry apartment, cops say

A Perry man has been charged with murdering his mother and stepfather in their apartment off Houston Lake Road, authorities say.

Anthony Douglas Shoffner, 25, of Perry, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. Shoffner was booked into the Houston County jail on the charges at 11:05 p.m. Wednesday, jail records show.

The arrest came after the Kenneth Griffin, 42, and Rebecca Griffin, 46, were found dead Wednesday at Houston Lake Apartments in Perry, according to a Perry police news release. Shoffner also lived there.

While authorities were investigating the killings, police were dispatched to 710 Mason Terrace in Perry to a report of a man attacking another man in the parking lot with a baseball bat. The attacker, later identified as Shoffner, had fled the scene before police arrived.

Within minutes of the baseball-bat attack, police were dispatched to Walgreens about a man, later identified as Shoffner, causing a disturbance, the release said. He was taken into custody.

The arrest was made by Perry police Detective Quridsha Gilliam at 4:52 p.m. Wednesday.

The bodies were discovered after Perry police were asked to conduct a welfare check at 11:31 a.m. Wednesday after one of the Griffins did not show up for work, the release said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted Perry police in the crime scene investigation.

Autopsies at a GBI crime lab Thursday confirmed the manner of death as homicide.

The apartments have a Kathleen mailing address but are located within the city limits of Perry and near the Houston Lake Country Club.

Anyone who may have information related to any of the crimes, please contact the Perry police Criminal Investigation Division at 478-988-2825, or call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 7:40 AM.