Fayette County man held in slayings of girlfriend, three others
Repost
WCPO-TV,
local Cincinnati, Ohio TV station web site:
FOUR FROM CINCINNATI KILLED IN GEORGIA
Authorities in Fayette County, Georgia near Atlanta say three of the
four
victims of a quadruple homicide are from Cincinnati.
65-year old Isaac Pearson surrendered to police in front of his home.
Inside, on a bed, police found the bodies of his 62-year old girlfriend
Barbara Clark, her 60-year old sister Donnie Gee, Gee's 16-year old
daughter Nikki Underwood, and grandaughter, three year old Doeyana
Burton.
Gee and the children were visiting during the holidays.
Police aren't discussing a motive.
Pearson will be charged with four counts of murder Wednesday.
Killing
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The following appears courtesy of the 12/28/99 online edition of The
WCPO-TV,
local Cincinnati, Ohio TV station web site:
Reported by: Bob Holtzman
(wcpo news)
12/28/99
A former Cincinnati resident will be in court Wednesday after fatally
shooting his girlfriend and three others, a spokesman for the
Fayetteville
sheriff's office said.
Isaac Pearson, 65, surrendered outside his home near Fayetteville, 20
miles
south of Atlanta.
Inside the house, investigators found the bodies of Pearson's
62-year-old
girlfriend, Barbara Clark, and her 60-year-old sister, Donnie Gee. Ms.
Gee's daughter, Nikki Underwood, 16, and granddaughter, 3-year-old
Doeyana
Burton, were also killed, said Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County
Sheriff's Department.
9News was told Gee, Underwood and Burton all live in Cincinnati and were
visiting Georgia for the holidays.
Although Pearson had only lived in this neighborhood for about six
months,
neighbors knew him and some of his background.
Until retiring earlier this year, Pearson worked as a real estate agent
at
Comey and Shepherd in Hyde Park. He had lived in golf manor.
The people who knew Pearson said they were shocked by what happened.
All four were in bed and had been shot at least once with a .40-caliber
handgun, Jordan said. Ms. Gee and the children lived together in
Cincinnati, and Pearson and Ms. Clark had moved to Georgia from Ohio
about
six months ago, Jordan said.
Tuesday night at Pierce's one-story brick home in the affluent, heavily
wooded Deer Glen Forest subdivision, four miles east of town, police had
set up a command-post trailer. Investigators scurried in and out of the
house, which was surrounded by yellow crime-scene tape.
Jordan said Pearson -- who neighbors said went by the name Jerry --
would
be charged with four counts of malice murder Wednesday. Investigators
declined to discuss a motive in the killings.
"He has given us a statement, but I can't get into all what he said,"
Jordan said. Pearson was held at the Fayette County Jail.
Police believe the shootings occurred early Tuesday, but declined to say
who called 911 or to explain what Pearson did in the time between the
shootings and his arrest.
Pearson worked as an agent at a Coldwell Banker real estate office in
Jonesboro and his girlfriend was retired. Jordan said police had not
been
called to the home previously and that Pearson apparently had no
criminal
record.
"He was a very calm, mild-mannered man," Jordan said. "As far as we can
tell, the man has never been in trouble."
Theda Bunker, the managing broker at Pearson's office said the office
was
"in shock at the news involving Jerry."
"He's been with us for six months," she said. "He always was a very
nice,
kind, gentle person. We're just in shock."
Pearson will be arraigned in the morning.
9News checked Hamilton County records and didn't find a criminal record
for
Pearson.
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The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
Fayette County man held in slayings of girlfriend, three others
By JUSTIN BACHMAN
The Associated Press
12/29/99
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- A suburban Atlanta real estate agent faces
premeditated murder charges in the slayings of his girlfriend and three
relatives from Cincinnati who were visiting for the holidays.
Isaac Jerry Pearson Sr., 65, was to be formally charged today by Fayette
County
prosecutors in the shooting deaths early Tuesday of his girlfriend,
Barbara
Clark, 62; her sister, Donnie Gee, 60; Gee's daughter, Nikki Underwood,
16, and
granddaughter, Doeyana Maia Burton, 3.
Gee and the girls lived in Cincinnati.
All four victims were in bed when they were shot and there was no sign
of a
struggle, said Maj. Bruce Jordan, an investigator with the sheriff's
department
in this prosperous suburb 21 miles south of Atlanta.
Pearson was held at the Fayette County Jail, where he was taken after
walking
peacefully down his driveway toward officers with his hands in the air
about 10
a.m. Tuesday.
Sheriff Randall Johnson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that
deputies
were sent to the house in Deer Glen Forest subdivision, four miles east
of
Fayetteville, after Pearson's son in Cincinnati called the Fayette 911
center.
Johnson declined to say how the son knew about the slayings.
"He has given us a statement, but I can't get into all what he said,"
Jordan
said. "The DA doesn't want us discussing the motive."
District Attorney Bill McBroom did not return a phone call left at his
home
Tuesday night.
All four victims had been shot at least once with a .40-caliber handgun,
Jordan
said. Some of the women had been shot more than once, but he declined to
elaborate.
Police also declined to discuss what Pearson -- who went by Jerry -- did
in the
time between the shootings and his arrest.
Jordan said police had not been called to the home previously and
Pearson had
no criminal record.
"He was a very calm, mild-mannered man," Jordan said. "As far as we can
tell,
the man has never been in trouble."
Gee and the children lived together in Cincinnati, and Pearson and Clark
had
moved to Georgia from Ohio about six months ago, Jordan said. Pearson
had
retired from the real estate business in Ohio and worked at a Jonesboro
Caldwell Banker real estate office part-time, said Walter Krauth,
property
manager at the Clayton County office.
Greta Carter, who has lived in the Deer Glen Forest subdivision for 14
years,
said she had become friendly with Clark and had planned to attend a New
Year's
Eve party at a hotel with her, Pearson and seven others.
"It's not often that you just meet somebody occasionally that you become
so
friendly with," Carter said. "She was a very warm, very sincere, very
giving
person."
As for Pearson, Carter described him as "just a simple guy."
"There was nothing un-ordinary about him," she said. "He was a
gentleman."
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The following appears courtesy of the 12/29/99 online edition of The
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution newspaper:
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
Fayette man, 65, held in killing of four
By Paul Donsky and Rick Minter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fayette County authorities say a 65-year-old man shot and killed his
girlfriend
and three of her relatives--including a 3-year-old girl--in their beds
Tuesday
morning.
The suspect, Isaac Jerry Pearson Sr., surrendered to sheriff's deputies
outside
the home he shared with 62-year-old Barbara E. Clark. Inside, deputies
found
the bodies of Clark and three relatives visiting from Ohio. They were
identified as Clark's 60-year-old sister, Donnie L. Gee; Gee's daughter,
Nikki
Underwood, 16; and Gee's granddaughter, Doeyana Maia Burton, 3.
Sheriff Randall Johnson said deputies were called to the house after
Pearson's
son in Cincinnati called Fayette's 911 center. The sheriff wouldn't say
how the
son knew about the slayings. Pearson met the deputies outside the house
and did
not resist arrest, Johnson said.
Officials said there was no sign of a struggle. Pearson's girlfriend was
found
in one bed; the other three bodies were found in another bed. Johnson
said a
handgun believed to be the murder weapon has been recovered.
Pearson was jailed pending a hearing today.
Johnson said Pearson had no criminal history. Pearson moved to Deer Glen
Forest, a quiet subdivision near Fayetteville, about six months ago from
Cincinnati, where he worked as a real estate agent.
He took a job selling real estate for Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty's
Clayton
County office. Walter Krauth, Bullard's property manager, said Pearson
sold
real estate as a hobby.
"He was retired and, for him, real estate . . . kept him occupied,"
Krauth
said.
Neighbors said Pearson was quiet and didn't leave the house much. Former
colleagues in Ohio and Georgia said Pearson was easy-going and
well-liked.
"He was a very, very pleasant, very gentle man," said Terry Hankner,
executive
vice president of Comey & Shepherd Realtors in Cincinnati. At Comey &
Shepherd,
Pearson earned several honors, including Salesperson of the Month.
A press release announcing Pearson's move to Bullard stated that he was
a
member of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church in Ohio and sang in
the
male choir. The release also said he originally was from Alabama and
attended
Cincinnati Technical College.
Steve Bullard, president of Coldwell Banker Bullard in Jonesboro, said,
"We're
all shocked and concerned for the family members."
Bullard said he last saw Pearson at the end of last week and got no
indication
anything was wrong. "He seemed like the same person," Bullard said.
Fayette authorities called the quadruple homicide the worst mass slaying
in the
county's history.
District Attorney Bill McBroom said he plans to charge Pearson with four
counts
of murder but won't decide whether to seek the death penalty until he
reviews
the entire case file.
Pearson is scheduled to appear in Fayette County Magistrate Court today.
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The following appears courtesy of the 12/29/99 online edition of The
Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper:
Wednesday, December 29, 1999
Four from Cincinnati shot to death in Georgia
BY WILLIAM A. WEATHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Isaac Pearson
Three Cincinnatians and a former Cincinnatian were shot to
death in
bed overnight Monday in suburban Atlanta.
The victims were a 60-year-old grandmother, her 16-year-old
daughter
and her 3-year-old granddaughter — all spending the Christmas holiday in
Georgia — and the grandmother's sister, who moved to Atlanta from
Cincinnati
six months ago with the man accused of killing them.
Isaac Pearson, a 65-year-old Fayetteville, Ga., real estate
agent and a
Cincinnati resident until he moved to the affluent Atlanta suburb, faces
charges that include four counts of malice murder in the shootings, Maj.
Bruce
Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, said Tuesday.
The victims were identified by police as Donnie Gee, 60; Nikki
Underwood, 16; and Doeyana Burton, 3, all of the 1500 block of Glen
Armand
Avenue, Northside; and Barbara Clark, 62, of Fayette County.
Police said Mrs. Gee and her daughter and granddaughter were in
Fayette
County visiting Mrs. Gee's sister, Ms. Clark, who is retired.
Ms. Clark, described as Mr. Pearson's girlfriend, had moved with
Mr.
Pearson to the affluent Deer Glen Forest subdivision near Fayetteville.
The
3-year-old is the daughter of Mrs. Gee's other daughter, police said.
“All four were shot and killed sometime during the night,” said
Maj.
Jordan, the department's chief investigator. “We got a 911 call from a
family
member” about 10 a.m. Tuesday. When police arrived at the scene, they
found Mr.
Pearson in the driveway of the home. He surrendered peacefully.
A .40-caliber handgun, which investigators believe was used in
the
fatal shootings, was found inside the residence, Maj. Jordan said. The
victims
were found in beds in two different rooms.
All had nightclothes on, indicating they had gone to bed for the
night
when the shooting occurred, Maj. Jordan said.
As for a motive for the shooting, Maj. Jordan said, “We think we
know
what it is, but the D.A.'s office is asking us not to discuss it.”
“I'm still somewhat in shock,” Samuel Niehaus, Mrs. Gee's
next-door
neighbor in Northside, said Tuesday shortly after hearing about the
shooting
deaths. “She was a nice woman. This is sad.”
Mrs. Gee, who had lived in the neighborhood in a 11/2-story
brick home
for about 10 years, was a widow, Mr. Niehaus said. She had “a couple of
daughters” and a granddaughter — “a cute little girl,” he said.
“She was a very friendly woman,” said Mr. Niehaus.
Mr. Pearson, who neighbors said went by “Jerry,” was employed as
a real
estate agent for Coldwell Banker in its Jonesboro office.
Theda Bunker, the managing broker at Mr. Pearson's office, said
his
colleagues were shocked by the news.
“He's been with us for six months,” she said. “He always was a
very
nice, kind, gentle person. We're just in shock.”
Maj. Jordan said homicides are rare in Fayette County, an area
with a
low crime rate. Houses in the subdivision where the shooting occurred
sell in
the $250,000 range, he said.
“We're always surprised when we have a homicide,” Maj. Jordan
said.
“We've never had a quadruple homicide in this county.”
There has been only one other homicide in Fayette County this
year, he
said.
Mr. Pearson, who has no previous criminal record, is being held
without
bond pending an initial appearance in Fayette County Magistrate Court at
2 p.m.
today. The Associated Press contributed to this report.