Crime & Public Safety
Crime & Public Safety

Decades later, the murder of a Polk County sheriff remains unsolved

Frank Lott Jr. stands by Polk County Sheriff Frank Lott’s gravestone in Cedartown, Ga. on August 18, 2017. Forty-five years after Polk County Sheriff Frank Lott was shot and killed as he investigated a reported burglary at the local high school, no one has been convicted. There was a suspect who went to trial but a jury acquitted him. Some say Lott’s successor, damaged the case by refusing to share information with other agencies investigating the shooting and by questioning but then releasing the only man to later be charged with the sheriff’s murder. (Rebecca Breyer)
Frank Lott Jr. stands by Polk County Sheriff Frank Lott’s gravestone in Cedartown, Ga. on August 18, 2017. Forty-five years after Polk County Sheriff Frank Lott was shot and killed as he investigated a reported burglary at the local high school, no one has been convicted. There was a suspect who went to trial but a jury acquitted him. Some say Lott’s successor, damaged the case by refusing to share information with other agencies investigating the shooting and by questioning but then releasing the only man to later be charged with the sheriff’s murder. (Rebecca Breyer)
By Rhonda Cook
Aug 23, 2017

The crime stunned this rural community in northwest Georgia: The Polk County sheriff gunned down responding to a burglary call.

More than four decades later, no one has ever been convicted in the killing of Frank Lott.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains why no one was ever punished in the case and how mistakes early on may have allowed the killer to walk free.

Read the full cold case story at myajc.com

WANT MORE COLD CASE STORIES? Sign up for our weekly crime and public safety newsletter. You’ll receive the latest in breaking crime news, trial coverage and unsolved cases.

About the Author

Rhonda Cook
More Stories

The Latest

(Photo Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC | Source: Getty, Unsplash)

Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC

Homicides down, police staffing up heading into Atlanta’s elections

Cobb mother gets 50 years in prison for toddler’s fentanyl death

Georgia judge resigns after Florida strip club arrest

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo

A 30-year-old’s overdose sparked a new law. Now courts are testing how far it can go.

Austin’s Law, passed in 2024, is leading to convictions of fentanyl dealers after a father’s fight for justice following his son’s overdose death.

Jared Curtis isn’t the only Georgia football storyline to watch on signing day

What will National Signing Day look like? It is starting to materialize significant storylines.

Search for inmate who escaped from Grady hospital enters second day

Timothy Shane is accused of stealing an SUV and then crashing it during the getaway, according to authorities.