One of two people found shot to death in a Blairsville home Monday was the 60-year-old mother of the man arrested in connection with the incident, authorities said Friday.
Cody Lee Vestal was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his mother, identified as Marilyn Laughlin, and 52-year-old Anthony Poat, the GBI said. Poat’s relationship to Laughlin and Vestal has not been released.
Union County sheriff’s personnel Monday found Laughlin and Poat at a property on Highway 325 after receiving a call from Dayton, Tenn., police. That agency was contacted by the Rhea Medical Center in Dayton, where Vestal had been admitted.
Dayton police determined that Vestal, 35, had been driving a vehicle registered to the address where Laughlin and Poat were found. They also discovered a firearm inside the vehicle.
Vestal was transferred from Rhea to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was placed under arrest and guarded until he was extradited to the Union County jail.
About the Author