One of the two brothers charged in connection with a deadly North Georgia stabbing recently had his legal troubles escalate after the GBI accused him of murder.
On Friday, the GBI charged Tommy Joe Byrd, 55, with murder in the death of 58-year-old Jerald Jerome Bowder, according to a news release. Byrd and his older brother, Tommy Roger Byrd, already faced tampering with evidence charges in the investigation, AJC.com previously reported.
RELATED: Brothers arrested after stabbing victim's body found in Walton County, GBI says
Credit: Walton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Walton County Sheriff's Office
The investigation began May 4 with a 911 call in Morgan County. The caller mentioned a stabbing at a location along Sandy Creek Road, but everyone involved left before deputies arrived, the GBI previously said.
About 3:30 a.m., two hours after the stabbing call, deputies in neighboring Walton County discovered a body at a home off Blasingame Road. That’s when the GBI was called in to assist both sheriff’s offices with the investigation.
The victim was identified as Bowden, and investigators determined he was involved in the Morgan County altercation earlier that morning.
Morgan County Chief Deputy Keith Howard said that two vehicles were speeding on Ga. 83 and attempted to take a turn onto Sandy Creek Road between 1 and 1:30 a.m. One of the vehicles ran off the road into the parking lot of a country store, suffering damage during the process.
About a mile later, the damaged vehicle caught up with the other one on Sandy Creek Road, where both drivers stopped to survey the damage. That’s when the men got into a “physical altercation,” Howard said, which left both with stab wounds.
Howard also noted that the Byrd brothers knew Bowden. The GBI has not released additional information on the evidence that the brothers are accused of concealing.
Tommy Byrd is being held in the Morgan County Jail, according to the GBI. His brother is being held in Walton County, according to online jail records.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office at 706-342-1200 or the GBI at 478-445-4173.
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