Man Charged 28 Years After Mother Found by Car

Arrest Comes Nearly 28 Years After Myers Was Found

Georgia authorities have arrested a 47-year-old man in the 1998 killing of Christy Dawn Myers, a 20-year-old mother whose body was found near her vehicle on a Coffee County highway. James Lawrence III of Irwin County was taken into custody Oct. 1 and charged with felony murder, malice murder and aggravated assault.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said continued forensic testing identified Lawrence as a suspect. He was booked into the Coffee County Jail, and the investigation remains active. Lawrence has not been convicted of the charges against him.

Myers Was Found Near Her Vehicle in 1998

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to assist with the case on Sept. 15, 1998. Myers had been found near her vehicle on the Broxton-Fitzgerald Highway after investigators said she was killed the previous night.

CBS Atlanta reported that witnesses had seen Myers socializing at a local store before she left alone. Neighbors near the area later reported hearing a conversation and then a vehicle accelerating before Myers was discovered.

The case remained unsolved for nearly three decades. The GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Douglas and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office continued working the investigation over that period, according to the state agency.

Forensic Testing Identified a Suspect

The GBI said Lawrence was identified through forensic evidence after continued testing. The agency did not publicly detail the specific testing in its release, while CBS Atlanta reported that DNA evidence was part of the renewed forensic work.

The Irwin County Sheriff’s Office assisted with locating and arresting Lawrence. After his arrest, authorities said the case file would eventually be provided to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution once the investigation is complete.

The filing of charges is the first major public legal development in a case that began in 1998. The state has not publicly established a motive in the material released with the arrest, and the charges remain allegations unless proven in court.

Myers’ Daughter Remembered More Than the Case

Myers’ daughter, Chelsea Wolfe, spoke publicly after the arrest and described her mother as friendly, energetic and someone who enjoyed long walks and singing. She said she wanted Myers remembered as a mother, daughter, sister and friend rather than only as the victim in an unsolved case.

Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole also addressed Myers’ family after the arrest. He acknowledged that an arrest could not restore the years the family lost but said the continued investigation showed that Myers had not been forgotten.

That family history gives the arrest a second timeline beyond the criminal case. Myers was 20 when she died, and her daughter and other relatives lived for almost 28 years without anyone being charged in connection with her death.

The arrest was also the product of a multi-agency effort rather than a single new tip. The GBI credited its Douglas regional office, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, forensic scientists, intelligence analysts and prosecutors with continuing to review the case. The Irwin County Sheriff’s Office then helped locate Lawrence when authorities were ready to make the arrest.

CBS Atlanta reported that the new forensic work included DNA evidence, while the GBI used the broader term forensic evidence in its official release. Authorities have not publicly detailed every test or how the evidence was preserved across the 28-year investigation, so those specifics remain part of the ongoing case.

The GBI said the investigation is still ongoing and asked anyone with information to contact its Douglas office or the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. Lawrence now faces prosecution on three felony counts, while investigators continue working a case that moved from an unsolved 1998 death to an arrest through modern forensic testing.

References: GBI Announces Arrest in 1998 Cold Case Death of Christy Dawn Myers in Coffee County, GA | Arrest made in decades-old cold case murder of 20-year-old Coffee County mother, GBI says | Mom, 20, Was Found Stabbed to Death Beside Her Car in 1998. Now Police Say They Found Her Killer