Bloody New Year in Henry County, Georgia

On New Years day a man in Locust Grove, Henry County, Georgia, killed himself and his children. This was indeed horrible and makes one grateful for a loving family. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only gruesome event to transpire in Henry County on New Years Day 2006, yet it was the only one to make the news. This author attempted, unsuccessfully, to contact several local news stations to provide them with the news tip of this other event-as it was unfolding. But it was a holiday, staffing was short and people had other things to do. The author was able to reach one news station tip line. They seemed only mildly interested and in the end didn’t bother to cover the story.

This author called them the following day asking why the event didn’t make the news and found the response a bit unsettling. The man who identified himself as John said, “because the woman didn’t die,” it wasn’t as big a story as the man in Locust Grove. After hanging up, this author sat in disbelief that someone could say this, then decided to tell the story, even though it was now “old news.” The reason for taking this time and action is the reason why this woman, who was brutally attacked, is probably not dead. A group of citizens with nothing to gain and everything to lose stepped into a life-threatening situation and made a difference. Doesn’t that count as news worthy? This is an example of how ordinary people can make a difference-an attitude that needs to be cultivate as culture. You be the judge.

This story is based on eyewitness interviews and personal observation that occurred during and immediately after the events.

How did you spend your first day of 2006? Surely not wielding a machete, playing slice and dice with a human being. Unfortunately, there was at least one person who ushered in the New Year in just such a manner.

January 1, 2006, began as a peaceful day with mild temperatures and a bit of sunshine in fast growing Henry County, Georgia. At about mid morning the lovely weather was quickly overshadowed by a ghastly act taking place at the America’s Best Inn, just off Interstate 75, Exit 218, in McDonough, Georgia. Employees at the hotel next door, The Hampton Inn, heard arguing, then what sounded like a gun shot and a woman screaming help me. As eyes turned toward the outcry they saw a woman, standing in the America’s Best Inn hotel room doorway, being attacked by a man repeatedly hacking at her with a machete. The Hampton Inn workers were on the second floor and saw there was no way to quickly reach this woman, so they began to yell at the man to stop, while others promptly called the police. The screaming workers caught the attacker’s attention. One of the workers said she felt he looked straight at her. He then turned, went to his vehicle and drove off. Another man in a light colored pickup truck was at the scene. He drove off once, drove back, got out, went to the door of the room, then got back in his truck and drove away again. A group of workers from the Hampton Inn rushed to assist the woman and pointed out this vehicle to police, as he drove through the parking lot yet again. He was stopped and placed inside a police car, though witnesses said he was not the man who assaulted the woman,

Employees from the Hampton Inn were first to arrive on the scene. They found four people in the room, two men and two women and said the air was heavy with the smell of something burnt. One woman was sitting on the bed, babbling and feeling her face and body. One man was walking about the room talking on his cell phone, a bloody gash on his neck. Another man was on the floor just inside the door, bent over the body of the women who had been under attack in the doorway, begging her not to die. Blood spattered the walls and ceiling and bloody handprints marked the doorway, inside and out. The woman’s head and face were so badly damaged that her face could barely be discerned. One of her legs was slit open down the back. More official vehicles arrived on the scene, quickly followed by a life flight helicopter that is believed to have removed the woman from the scene. One of the officers on the scene received a phone call and several police vehicles sped from the America’s Best Inn out onto Industrial Blvd. presumably in pursuit of the suspect.

The yellow tape went up, the witness statements were taken and life went on, but certainly not as usual. Those first witnessing the events said they felt helpless, being too far away to immediately help and seeing guests and employees of the America’s Best Inn seeming oblivious to the woman’s plight. They also said they felt a sense of frustration when they phoned the police because the police were wasting time by not sending a car and instead asking so many questions first. This was not the type of day any of them expected as they went about their daily routine. One individual stated it seemed surreal and he still couldn’t grasp it as really happening.

When later asked about why they rushed to the woman’s aid, putting themselves at risk, instead of waiting for the police, some said they hadn’t thought about the danger, they just saw someone in trouble and took action. They expressed concern for the woman’s survival and wanted the woman’s family to know that they hoped their intervention made a difference in the outcome. The Hampton Inn employees say they care about their guests. It seems they care about other people’s guests as well. It’s nice to know people are still watching out for each other and willing to get involved.