It was a record year for Macon bloodshed. Are cops solving cases? A look at the data
While 2020 was a record year for violent deaths in Macon, Bibb County sheriff’s investigators have made arrests in or otherwise cleared about three-fourths of the cases.
Sheriff’s officials say that even though 10 of the 43 homicide cases on their books have yet to result in criminal charges, their clearance rate stands at better than 75%.
“On some of these that are still active, we’re very close in getting those resolved,” sheriff’s Capt. Shelly Rutherford said.
All told, according to departmental statistics, there were 50 homicide victims here in 2020. (Two cases of alleged vehicular homicide, in which a total of two people died, were not included in that figure, though they have led to arrests.)
Five of the slayings involved multiple victims, including an unborn child, and three of the cases were deemed justified.
Rutherford, of the department’s Violent Crimes Unit, attributed the county’s clearance rate, which exceeds the national average of about 62%, to investigators’ diligence.
“I believe it has everything to do with the ambition that my investigators have,” Rutherford said. “They work many, many countless hours without complaint to get the answers for these cases.”
She added: “They use many resources. The community is a big resource. They get out there. They talk to everyone. And one of the biggest things is, the majority of my investigators grew up in Macon.”
A chart from county crime analysts shows that 51 suspects have been arrested, including six of whom have been charged with murder in the death of teenager in December.
“I just wish on some of these homicides that we could have more of the community helping us,” Rutherford said.
“To have the community call in to us to give us information and not fear that their name is gonna go out ... that they can feel safe in sharing that information would be a tremendous help.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2021 at 1:31 PM.