GBI agent: White men charged in brutal murder “miss the good ole days” of killing black men

Two white men charged in a decades-old cold case murder of a black man were proud of their crime, lawyers said Thursday in Spalding County court.

William Moore, Sr., 58, and Frank Gebhardt, 59, were arrested Oct. 13 on charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and concealing the death of another. The two men appeared in court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing in the 1983 killing of 23-year-old Timothy Coggins, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Spalding County prosecutor Marie Broder said Coggins had been stabbed 29 times and two of his teeth were knocked out as he was dragged behind a truck. His body was found about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta along Highway 19 on Oct. 9, 1983.

After the alleged murder, the brothers-in-law bragged to friends, family members, girlfriends and children about their actions.

“They were proud of what they had done. They felt like they were protecting the white race from black people,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Jared Coleman testified on Thursday.

At the time of the incident, Moore and Gebhardt were mill workers who had previously encountered Coggins before, Coleman said. The exact incidents or arguments leading up to the murder are not entirely clear at this time.

A white woman told authorities she danced with Coggins at “People’s Choice,” which may have set off Moore and Gebhardt. Another witness said there could have been a drug deal gone south, Coleman said.

But race was the common factor, Coleman told the courts.

Moore reportedly told a person he “missed the gold ole days when you could kill a black man for no reason,” Coleman said.

The case remained cold until March 2017 when new evidence became known to investigators in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office. The Coggins family was notified of this new evidence in July and investigators decided to release it to the public in hopes of finding new leads, a Spalding County Sheriff’s Office release stated at the time.

“Based on the original evidence recovered in 1983 and new evidence and interviews there is no doubt in the minds of all investigators involved that the crime was racially motivated and that if the crime happened today it would be prosecuted as a hate crime,” the release stated.

Five men and women, including a law enforcement agent, were arrested on Oct. 13 as a result of the investigation.

In addition to Moore and Gebhardt, three others were arrested at the time for the role they allegedly played in covering up the murder.

Sandra Bunn, 58, and Lamar Bunn, 32, were charged with obstruction.

Gregory Huffman, 47, has been charged with violation of oath of office and obstruction. He was terminated from his position as a detention office after his arrest, according to a comment from the Sheriff’s Office.

“We have always wanted justice, held out for justice, and knew that we would have justice,” Heather Coggins, the victim’s niece, said at a news conference. “We have endured grief for the past 34 years … our journey is coming to an end; their journey is just beginning.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 10:13 AM with the headline "GBI agent: White men charged in brutal murder “miss the good ole days” of killing black men."