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

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

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