GBI Investigates Morgan County Homicide - UPDATE

Morgan County, GA (May 12, 2020) – On Friday, May 8, 2020, Tommy Joe Byrd was charged with murder for the murder of Jerald Jerome Bowden on May 4, 2020 and is being held at the Morgan County Jail.

ORIGINAL RELEASE

Morgan County, GA (May 4, 2020) – On Monday, May 4, 2020, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region Six Office was requested by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office to investigate a homicide. The preliminary results of the investigation are as follows:

In the early morning hours of May 4, 2020, Morgan County 911 received a call stating that several individuals had been in an altercation resulting in at least one individual being stabbed. Deputies immediately responded to the area of Sandy Creek Road in Madison, Morgan County, GA, but all parties involved were no longer present. A couple hours later, Walton County 911 received a call of an unresponsive male located off a roadway outside of Monroe, Walton County, GA. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene to find Jerald Jerome Bowden, 58, of Walton County, GA, deceased from what appeared to be stab wounds. GBI Region Eleven Office agents responded to assist Walton County Sheriff’s Office. Through numerous investigative acts, it was determined that Bowden was one of the individuals involved in the altercation in Morgan County, GA.

At this time, Tommy Joe Byrd, 55, and his brother Tommy Roger Byrd, 56, both of Walton County, have been arrested by GBI agents and charged with Tampering with Evidence. Additional charges are pending. Both are being held at the Walton County Jail. 

Bowden’s body was transported to the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur, GA where an autopsy will be performed on Wednesday, May 6, 2020.

This investigation is currently ongoing and anyone with information regarding this murder investigation is asked to call the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office at 706-342-1200 or the GBI Region 6 Office at 478-445-4173.