Schaefers were facing foreclosure at time of deaths
Finances have entered the picture in the mystery surrounding the death of former state Sen. Nancy Schaefer.
According to The Northeast Georgian, a weekly newspaper based in Cornelia, Schaefer and her husband, Bruce, were facing mountains of financial problems when they died.
The paper reported that the couple’s $629,000 home on a private golf course was facing foreclosure. The 4,700-square-foot home was located in the exclusive, gated Orchard community.
The paper also reported that the Schaefers’ home is scheduled to be sold May 4 on the steps of the Habersham County Courthouse, according to a legal ad that was placed in the paper Wednesday, the day of the Schaefers' double funeral.
Police say that on March 26, Bruce Schaefer shot Nancy Schaefer, then killed himself.
It was initially thought that illness might have been the cause of the murder-suicide, as several friends of the couple reported that Bruce Schaefer had cancer.
But after Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell ruled out that scenario, talk of troubled finances began to surface.
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
