The man accused of killing three members of a Coweta County family had been a customer at their Grantville gun shop, the GBI said Monday.
Jacob Christian Muse, 21, now lives in College Park, where he was arrested Friday and charged with three counts of murder, according to investigators. But Muse at one time lived in the area of the Lock Stock and Barrel shop and gun range, a GBI special agent told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Grantville police Chief Steve Whitlock said Muse had bought at least one gun at the shop and fired it on the range.
On April 8, three members of the Hawk family were killed during what investigators believe was a robbery at the family business. The victims were Tommy Richard Hawk Sr., the 75-year-old owner, his wife Evelyn Hawk, also 75, and their 18-year-old grandson Alexander “Luke” Hawk, a senior at East Coweta High School.
The Coweta County coroner, Richard Hawk, found the bodies of his parents and son inside the gun shop after the three didn’t return home, police previously said. Numerous weapons had been stolen, according to investigators. The GBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were asked to assist with the investigation.
The deaths shocked the community and normally quiet Grantville, where it had been at least 20 years since a homicide was reported, according to the GBI.
In the days after the killings, Muse was identified as a potential suspect, Whitlock said in an emailed statement Monday. On Friday, investigators executed a search warrant at his home and found all of the stolen guns and verified the serial numbers matched those missing from the gun shop, the chief said.
Credit: Family photos
Credit: Family photos
“The recovery of all the guns, coupled with the interview of Muse, resulted in him being arrested for three counts of malice murder, with other potential charges pending,” Whitlock said.
Muse, who works at a security company according to his booking sheet, is the only suspect in custody at this point. But that could change as the investigation continues, according to police.
“Even though he’s in jail and with warrants signed for murder, there’s a lot more to work,” Whitlock said late Friday.
Muse remained Monday in the Coweta jail, where he was being held without bond. No information was released on a possible motive in the case.
The arrest of Muse came one day after the funeral was held for the Hawk family members. The coroner asked for prayers for his family during the service at Unity Baptist Church in Newnan and led those attending in a praise song. Hawk and his family members have relied on their faith to guide them through the tragedy.
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