With his wife out of town, a Douglas County man was cooking himself turnip greens moments before he was brutally killed in his home. The grandfather, father, husband and business owner was the victim of a violent attack leading to numerous injuries, county officials said Friday.
Jerry Wheeler’s death has hit many in the county especially hard. His son is a deputy with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the homicide. And the county coroner called Wheeler a close friend.
“It really set me back,” Coroner Randy Daniel told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Friday. “He was a great man. I don’t why in God’s name anyone would want to hurt him.”
Wheeler, 66, owner of Lee Road Auto Service, was found in his Chattahoochee Drive home Wednesday afternoon when his son stopped by to check on him, Chief Deputy Stan Copeland with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said. Wheeler’s death is the first for the year in the county.
“He was the victim of a violent attack,” Copeland said. “His death was the result of multiple injuries.”
Wheeler had been stabbed numerous times, Daniel said. Daniel said Wheeler likely was killed within hours of being discovered. Turnip greens were still on the stove when investigators were called to the home, he said.
Wheeler’s son is Deputy Michael Wheeler with the sheriff’s office. But Copeland said investigators don’t believe there is a link between Jerry Wheeler’s killing and his son’s job.
“We are working every lead, but as of right now, that doesn’t seems to have any issue,” Copeland said Friday afternoon.
Investigators believe Jerry Wheeler was home alone at the time of his attack and that his wife was out of town. After Michael Wheeler couldn’t reach his father by phone at his auto shop, he went to parents’ home, where he made the gruesome discovery.
No suspects or motive have been identified, but deputies are working several leads, Copeland said. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Funeral services for Wheeler will be Saturday at 5 p.m. at Hightower's Memorial Chapel in Douglasville.
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