After helping her cousin clean up after he stabbed a man to death, a Coweta County woman then helped herself to the dead man’s belongings, according to police.
It is the second arrest in connection to the January killing in an east Cobb County home, according to police.
Cynthia Hope Wheeler was arrested at a Newnan Burger King early Thursday and charged with concealing a death, burglary and tampering with evidence, all felonies, Cobb County jail records show. Wheeler, of Newnan, is accused of helping her cousin conceal the death of Jerry L. Moore, according to an arrest warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
On Jan. 27, investigators were called to Moore's home in the 2800 block of Gracewood Drive, off Holly Springs Road, where they found the body of Moore, 46. He had been stabbed 32 times, according to police. In August, an arrest warrant was issued for Johnathan Allan Wheeler, 31, of Stockbridge, charging him with Moore's murder.
Cell phone data helped lead detectives to Wheeler, who was in an Ohio jail when he was charged by Cobb police. Two weeks ago, he was transported to the Cobb jail, where he remained Friday without bond.
In an arrest warrant for Cynthia Wheeler, secured Thursday, Cobb police state that she was in Moore’s home after his death.
“The accused did assist her cousin Johnathan Wheeler with cleaning up evidence at a homicide crime scene,” the warrant states. “The accused did also assist her cousin with trashing the victim’s house and the removal of the victim’s property from the house in an effort to stage the house to look like a robbery had occurred.”
Moore’s flat-screen television, computer, safe and the keys to his Jeep Grand Cherokee were missing from the home, according to police. Investigators believe the cousins removed the items from the home.
Jonathan Wheeler, who has a prior felony conviction, spent nearly nine years in state prison following a conviction for armed robbery, aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. It was not known whether his cousin has a prior criminal history.
Moore, an Ohio native, worked for Disney Vacations and was a co-owner of a Woodstock bakery, according to his online obituary. Police have not released a motive in the killing.
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