Victim, suspects in shooting death of Berry College student all Pacelli graduates

Two teens being charged with murder in the shooting death Saturday in Rome, Ga., of a Berry College student from Columbus were arrested by police in Columbus. St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School has confirmed all three are graduates of the school.

Floyd County police say Ricket Damon Carter III, 19, of Columbus, and Troy Jamal Cokley, 19, of Riverdale, Ga., are suspects in the death of 19-year-old Joseph McDaniel of Columbus and were located by police in a Columbus apartment complex.

McDaniel graduated from Pacelli in 2015, while Carter and Cokley graduated in 2016.

The two suspects were transported to the Floyd County Jail.

They have been charged with murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a controlled substance.

An official statement from Pacelli on Sunday said “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of our alumni involved in this tragic event.”

In a report on the Floyd County Police Facebook page, police allege Carter and Cokley traveled to Rome to meet McDaniel. An argument ensued that ended in McDaniel’s death.

The incident occurred around 2:20 a.m. Saturday at an apartment complex on Old Summerville Road.

Floyd County coroner Gene Proctor said Sunday that the deputy coroner who worked the case told him McDaniel was shot once in the chest.

The body will go a Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for an autopsy. Proctor said the body will be released to the family later this week.

According to The Viking Fusion, a student-run multimedia website, McDaniel is the second Berry student to die within the past three weeks.

He is the son of Liliana and Joseph McDaniel. She is chief accounting officer at Synovus and he is a Spanish teacher and girls golf coach at Columbus High School.

The family attends St. Anne Church in Columbus.

A close family friend and employee at St. Anne, Anne Dawahare, said Sunday she was “shocked” by the news.

“Everybody, please pray for this family,” she said.

Though no arrangements have been made, Striffler-Hamby Mortuary on Macon Road will be handling the funeral.

Berry College sent out an official statement from Debbie Heida, vice-president for student affairs.

“It has been a difficult semester. With sorrow and regret, I share that Joseph McDaniel was shot and killed last night at an off-campus location on Old Summerville Road. Joseph was a third-year student at Berry studying business management,” the release said.

The statement continued, “Our community has been remarkable in showing support and care for each other in tragic circumstances and it is heartbreaking to need to do it again. Please be as supportive of each other as possible as we all seek to make sense of this tragedy.

The Viking Fusion’s Allie Pritchett interviewed a student, Daniel Pavlik, who reported being with McDaniel, known by friends as “Malibu,” on Friday night.

Pavlik said he and McDaniel watched football with a group of friends. “Nothing out of the ordinary was going on,” Pavlik said in the story.

He said the last time he saw McDaniel was around 12:30 a.m. Saturday when Pavlik left with some Berry football players.

“Thank God, we had to leave,” he told Pritchett.

He said it was “shocking’ to hear the news.

The Viking Fusion story said McDaniel played football at Berry his freshman year.

This story was originally published October 29, 2017 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Victim, suspects in shooting death of Berry College student all Pacelli graduates."