Of Macon's 2015 homicides, December 'whodunit' stymies investigators
Wiley Hudson dropped off his wife at work and planned to run errands before he clocked in at his job.
He never showed up to stock shelves at the Family Dollar store on Shurling Drive on Dec. 22.
Hudson was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head inside his in-laws' SUV. It was parked out on the dirt road portion of Lakeshore Drive that is a popular dumping ground for old furniture and trash.
Someone had stuffed a cloth in the opening of the gas tank and set it on fire, but the flames burned out before doing much damage to the brown 2002 Nissan Xterra.
"That's a strange case in the 'whodunit' category," said Lt. Shermaine Jones, a supervisor in the criminal investigation division of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office. "We have nothing but small evidence right now."
Hudson was the second to the last person killed in the county during 2015 -- a year with 28 homicides.
His case is one of just a few from last year in which the suspected killer remains at large.
On Sunday, March 8, Thomas Knighton, 63, was found with his throat cut inside his duplex on Elder Street. His neighbor last saw him two days before.
No one has been charged with killing him, and investigators want to talk to anyone who saw anything unusual in the Fort Hill neighborhood that weekend.
"People think they don't have anything that is important, but it could be super big for us," Jones said.
An arrest is still pending in the shooting death of 19-year-old Tavaris Veal, who was fatally wounded while sitting outside building 20 at the former Macon Gardens Apartments off Mercer University Drive near Bloomfield Road.
Investigators do have a person of interest in the case and believe the killing is linked to an earlier argument and shooting related to a "boyfriend, girlfriend situation," Jones said.
Hudson's killing is much more puzzling.
He had $4 in his wallet, a cellphone and rings on his fingers, which likely rules out robbery as a motive.
Hudson used to do contract work for Cox Communications, and he may have been cutting through back roads as he headed to get air in his tires and go by an ATM, said his sister-in-law, Beverly Conner.
He was a quiet man about 6 feet tall who kept to himself and helped out his mother-in-law after she suffered a stroke, Conner said.
She doesn't think he had any enemies.
"He was real artsy and he drew a lot. Him and my sister used to do crafts together," she said. "He would watch TV and play on the computer and stay in his room a lot."
Investigators are interested in talking to anyone who knew him -- even casually, Jones said.
They are putting together a timeline to determine when Hudson got to that portion of the street near Lakeview Apartments off Masseyville Road.
While they search for surveillance images of Hudson, they would like to hear from anyone who saw any unusual vehicles nearby.
"Anything that comes in is a lead," Jones said.
REWARDS AVAILABLE
Charges will not be filed against shooters in at least two of the cases.
Andrew Brown was shot and killed March 26 during a burglary on Suzanne Drive, and 38-year-old Migel Diadell was fatally wounded during an attempted armed robbery on Nov. 8 off Gray Highway.
Diadell's alleged accomplice, Ramon Jerel Mims, 38, was charged with murder because he allegedly was involved in the crime that resulted in his friend's death.
Just because there is an arrest does not mean a case is closed.
Although 18-year-old Terrance Hampton is charged with murder in the shooting death of 14-year-old Tootie Roberts, authorities believe he did not act alone when the girl was gunned down in a hail of bullets while she was inside her Lindwood Drive home Dec. 13.
"It's sad," Jones said. "Our victims are getting younger and younger. So are the suspects."
Macon Regional Crimestoppers pays up to $1,000 for anonymous tips leading to an arrest and additional reward money up to $10,000 is possible in Hudson's death because it involves arson.
Callers can reach the Georgia Arson Hotline by calling 800-282-5804.
Tips can be phoned into Crimestoppers at 877-68-CRIME.
The reward money could help solve the cases, Jones said.
"Unfortunately, in the day and age we live in, money makes people do things they should do naturally."
Information from The Telegraph archives contributed to this report. To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.
This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Of Macon's 2015 homicides, December 'whodunit' stymies investigators ."