GA GA - Rev. DeWitt & Jessie Lewis, both 66, Dalton, 7 Nov 1985

Kjill, after over 25 years, justice is overdue for Rev. DeWitt & Jessie Lou Lewis ...
Thanx for starting this thread...

' What good does it do for investigators to hold info & evidence close to the vest after 25 years? They should release all info, imo'...
 
Did you follow the case 25 years ago..... or did your parents?

Do you recall what the prevailing theory(ies) of perp and motive was/is?

TIA
 
In 1985 I was a teenager dating my first boyfriend. He was 4 years older than me and worked for the Dalton pd. He was a newbie rookie working the night shift. He did not do any investigative work but for a while they had him park in front of the house where the murder took place to guard it after the crime. He was inside the house a few times and described the blood patterns to me as well as some other observations he made.

This couple was well known and well liked in the community. They lived in the center of town very close to the elementary school. The community was shocked. There seemed to be no motive and the crime was so very brutal. They had close neighbors and lived on a well traveled road yet no one heard or saw anything.
 
Did you follow the case 25 years ago..... or did your parents?

Do you recall what the prevailing theory(ies) of perp and motive was/is?

TIA

I did follow it and my dad did too (mom had passed away the year before). My dad knew them, was horrified and sickened but knows no more than I do.

Now....the rumors.....I can't say but they are strongly alluded to in some of the articles available on line. I will post more links.
 
I did follow it and my dad did too (mom had passed away the year before). My dad knew them, was horrified and sickened but knows no more than I do.

Now....the rumors.....I can't say but they are strongly alluded to in some of the articles available on line. I will post more links.

I am sorry this double-murder was hard on your father and your community....

However... with your background....it sounds like you have a great start to a review thread!

I did not read complete articles.. but the police gave the impression (IMO) that they have/had a good idea of the identity of the perp!

JMO
 
Thanks for the thread, K.jill - never heard of the case but it looks hugely interesting.
 
Very interesting comments... aren't they? :waitasec:

Do you still have access to any town members who may have insider information?

TIA

Yes. I know/have access to probably 75% of locals who knew them and their extended family. I don't think these people have any knowledge but I will ask around.
 
Thanks, k.jill, for starting this thread. I read the blog with the comments.

At that time of night and no sign of forced entry tells me the victims knew their perp.

Was there anyone in town that they were having "bad" business dealings or a possible fired/disgruntled employee?

Someone from the church?

But my first thought, who would benefit from their deaths (since it didn't appear to be a robbery)....family
 
Interesting case, Kjill. This is one of those cases that should be easy to solve, and yet you wonder why 27 years later, it remains a mystery. I've only read the first link so far. I'll check out the other link and the comments. What I've read so far leads me to suspect a relative or close friend is responsible.

Chadwick said at the time there were “indications” that personal items in the home had been gone through, but that “ransacking” was too strong a word. Leon Cox told the newspaper there was $700 in DeWitt Lewis’ wallet that was not taken, as well as rings, mink furs and a valuable gun collection that were still in the home.
http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x1364887918/Double-murder-still-haunts-Dalton?mobRedir=false

Sounds like the killer was looking for something specific, and the victims were trying to show him/her that it wasn't there.
 
Bumping this one for the afternoon audience. Interesting case, this.
 
Thanks for posting this, K.jill. Sometimes the years-worth of (and current) lists of violence, sadness and loss on WS can be so overwhelming, one doesn't know where to start. I guess I am probably not too unusual in tending to look first at cases in my home state/region. I will follow this thread with interest.
 
Is my understanding correct: that LE never really named a POI or suspect in this case (the "strong hints" notwithstanding) -- so that there really is no one we can sleuth (openly) here?

I wonder if the evidence (fibers, etc.) is still around and whether there is anything that could yield helpful DNA, since I don't think DNA was too much in forensic use at the time.

If a family member or other very-familiar-to-the-premises person were to have been involved, it's possible DNA might not be much help, though, I guess. :(
 
This is my first post here, after reading off and on for many years. I stumbled across this thread and wanted to comment, since I live in Dalton. Actually, I live walking distance from the home where this took place.

It is fairly common knowledge among those I've spoken with who the main suspect is, but no, he/she has never been officially named, so I guess I can't be specific. Like someone mentioned though, the comments section of the linked blog is very informative.

I do remember that they drained a pond at a residence near the home several years ago (I'm thinking late 90s) and word got around that they were looking for a murder weapon. As far as I know, nothing was turned up. If I remember correctly, the home had been owned by a family member of the deceased couple and they wouldn't allow it to be searched. When it was sold, the buyers agreed to allow the pond to be searched. At the time, my family owned a business in town and a couple of cops would come by every so often and chat. That's how I originally heard about the pond search, although it seemed like most everyone in the nearby area knew about it, so it may have even been on the news.

Aside from that, I don't have much to add. However, my stepfather has been a firefighter here for almost 30 years and knows absolutely everyone. I'll ask him if he knows anything about this case. I haven't thought about it in years, so I'm glad I came across this thread.
 
CALBA
Welcome and thanks for posting here. I hoped that one day someone else from Dalton would read this thread and add their memories/thoughts.


:greetings:

:wagon:
 

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