By Jennifer Emert - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - The GBI is poised to make an arrested in the murders of two people found in a Crisp County cotton field.
A second body was found Thursday morning, about 24 hours after the first was discovered inside a burning SUV. The body found Thursday was in the field about 200 yards from where the SUV was found. Investigators won't say much about the mysterious deaths, but they believe they are closing in on a suspect.
The Crisp County Sheriff's office has identified the owner of that SUV, but hasn't been able to locate that person. It was information from the community that lead them back to the field Thursday morning and they say they're closer to solving this case.
Burned cotton plants not far off Blackshear Road show where the charred van was parked.
Thursday investigators discovered another piece in the puzzle, another body not far away, lying in the field. "This morning at about 8:15 we discovered a second body in that area," said Col. Billy Hancock, Crisp County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy.
Investigators are saying little about how the man died or his identity.
"It was not burned we know that it was that of a black male at this time we're not ready to release any identification to it or cause of death pending the autopsy," said Hancock.
They gathered more evidence from that cotton field, leaving behind markers.
"Of course we're working with the GBI and the state fire marshal as far as that investigation goes to help us determine what caused the fire and if any accelerants were used," said Hancock.
Without help from seven different agencies including Cordele Police, the medical examiner's office, GSP, and the Crisp County District Attorney the investigation might have moved slower.
"Without all the agencies working together we would not be this far ahead in the investigation," said Special Agent Trebor Randle, GBI-Americus.
Far enough that an arrest was expected.
"Yes ma'am potential arrests in the works," said Randle.
When we asked investigators what led up to two bodies being discovered in the cotton field they said they didn't want to speculate on how the crime occurred.
The body discovered Thursday will be sent to the crime lab in Atlanta. An autopsy is already underway on the body discovered Wednesday. The body was so badly burned they don't even know whether it was a man or a woman. Investigators encourage anyone with information on this case to contact the Crisp County Sheriff's Office and the Americus GBI.
©2009 WALB News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Feedback
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
