Wednesday, May 7, 2003
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Wednesday, May 7, 2003 |
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Murder victim killed reaching for his gun? Double life may have led to double murder, say sheriff's investigators By JOHN MUNFORD
The ex-girlfriend of a Fayette man who was found shot to death in his home Monday morning believes he was trying to get to his gun to defend himself from his killer. Terri Gilman said David Mangham's sister told her deputies found a gun near his body in the master bedroom of his home in the Princeton Chase subdivision of north Fayette County just off Ga. Highway 314 near Ga. Highway 279. Another man, Francis Michael Fowler of Ellenwood, was found shot to death in the kitchen area, according to deputies. Police said Fowler occasionally did some auto body work for Mangham in a garage at the rear of the home. Officials are working on the theory that both men were shot by a third person. "I just hope they find out who did it," said Gilman, of Fayetteville, who remembered that Mangham always called to wish her a happy birthday. He couldn't do that Monday as she turned another year older and mourned the death of a close friend. "I can't imagine ... From what his sister is telling me it was just so violent." Fayette County sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Belinda McCastle declined to talk about the evidence found at the scene. Detectives are investigating the case as a double murder, she confirmed. The initial investigation indicated that Mangham led a double life of sorts, with "a circle of friends who may have been involved in illegal activities" in addition to friends from church social activities, according to sheriff's officials. Anyone with information on the allegedly seedy side of Mangham's acquaintances is asked to contact Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan or Sgt. Tracey Carroll at the sheriff's department at 770-461-6353. A bystander discovered the bodies of Mangham and Fowler, who were both 48, Monday morning. Shots had been fired in the residence, and Mangham's body was discovered in the master bedroom of the residence while Fowler was found in the kitchen area, said Sgt. McCastle. Gilman said she dated Mangham when he built the house himself and they remained very close even after breaking off the relationship, which began through a meeting at New Hope Baptist Church. Mangham was single and didn't have any children, she said. Mangham always used to carry a lot of money on him, saying he didn't trust banks, she said. "I used to always get onto him about that," Gilman said. Neighbors recalled Mangham having various persons at his home to fix up cars, sometimes even when he wasn't there. "He just seemed to have a lot of friends," said B.T. Howell, who lives across the street from Mangham's residence. "They would run the car real loud at times." Howell's wife, DeVerne, said it was unusual for Mangham's grass to get long since he was meticulous about keeping the yard in good condition. It was also suspicious that newspapers began to pile up in the driveway, she added. B.T. Howell said Mangham had an earth moving business and recently gave him advice on how to handle a drainage problem in his front yard. Mangham's love of restoring classic cars led him to display his efforts at car shows at the GTO's Drive-In restaurant, Gilman said. His latest auto project was on a car of 1930's vintage, according to neighbors. This would be Fayette County's first intentional homicide since March 1999 when a drug dealer was shot and killed, his body left in a subdivision under construction in north Fayette County to burn in a sport utility vehicle. Several defendants were convicted of murder in that case, which prosecutors said spawned from a drug deal gone bad that originated in south Fulton County.
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