Guy Heinze Jr.

Case overview

Guy Heinze Jr. was convicted of malice murder for the Aug. 29, 2009 slayings of his father and seven others inside the mobile home they shared. He was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole on October 30, 2013 after prosecutors dropped the death penalty as an option.

Timeline

• Aug. 29, 2009 — Heinze told police he had returned and found his family beat to death.
• Aug. 29, 2009 — The killings were discovered after Heinze went to a neighbor and then called 911.
• Sep. 5, 2009 — Heinze was arrested Friday night and charged with eight counts of murder in the killings that were discovered after the 911 call.
• Oct. 19, 2013 — Heinze’s death penalty murder trial continued, and the lead investigator testified about motive.
• Oct. 25, 2013 — A jury found Heinze guilty of eight counts of murder.
• Oct. 30, 2013 — Heinze was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
• Oct. 31, 2013 — Coverage described the sentence and the dropped death penalty.

People involved

• Guy Heinze Jr. (suspect/defendant) — convicted of malice murder for the Aug. 29, 2009 slayings and later sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
• Guy Heinze Sr., 45 (victim) — Heinze’s father, killed in the mobile home.
• Rusty Toler Sr., 44 (victim) — killed in the mobile home.
• Chrissy Toler, 22 (victim) — killed in the mobile home.
• Russell D. Toler Jr., 20 (victim) — killed in the mobile home.
• Michael Toler, 19 (victim) — killed in the mobile home.
• Michelle Toler, 15 (victim) — killed in the mobile home.
• Brenda Gail Falagan, 49 (victim) — Rusty Toler Sr.’s sister, killed in the mobile home.
• Joseph L. West, 30 (victim) — Chrissy Toler’s boyfriend, killed in the mobile home.
• Byron Jimerson Jr., 3 (survivor) — sole survivor of the attack, suffered severe head injuries; later described as being 7.
• Tyler Heinze (younger brother of Guy Heinze Jr.) — shouted vulgarities as he left the courtroom; also said he could not believe the defendant was guilty at a funeral.
• William Heinze (grandfather) — said he could not believe Heinze was guilty at a funeral.
• Margaret Orlinski (neighbor) — made a 911 call.
• Diane Isenhower (relative) — said she was opposed to the death penalty and described it as “That’s the easy way out.”
• Heather Teston (friend) — said Heinze was “railroaded by the justice system.”
• Newell Hamilton Jr. (lead defense attorney) — declined to comment after the sentencing hearing; presented no witnesses in the sentence phase.
• John B. Johnson (Assistant District Attorney) — addressed juror replacement and the sentencing terms.
• Stephen Scarlett (Superior Court Judge) — decided whether the defendant would be eligible for parole and imposed the life-without-parole sentence.
• Matt Doering (Glynn County Police Chief) — commented on evidence leading to arrest and later court events.
• Lt. William Daras (lead investigator) — testified about motive and evidence handling.
• Shawn Strohl (investigator) — testified about evidence processing and contamination prevention practices.
• Michael Knox (forensic science and criminology consultant) — defense witness who found numerous faults with the investigation.
• James Adam “Pee Wee” Davis Sr. (witness) — testified about being brought pliers by Russell Toler Jr. and Guy Heinze Jr. and about marijuana being provided.
• Tyvek suit-related testimony witnesses — Daras and Strohl addressed procedures and practices.
• James Adam “Pee Wee” Davis Sr. (witness) — testified about cocaine and marijuana context and the vehicle use.
• Hazel Sumner (cousin) — described family background and motive as “It was just greed and drugs that did this.”
• Joseph Iannicelli (employer/statement issuer) — described Russell “Rusty” Toler Sr. as a loyal employee.
• Jimmy Ginn (former neighbor/friend) — described Russell Toler Sr. and Guy Heinze Sr.
• Bobby Sumner (friend/fishing companion) — described Russell Toler Sr. and Guy Heinze Sr.
• Fred Rowe (friend) — described Russell Toler Sr. and employment habits.
• Paul Pinkham (Times-Union reporting context) — included in the material as associated with sections.
• Teresa Stepzinski (Times-Union reporting context) — included in the material as associated with sections.
• Terry Dickson (Jacksonville.com/Times-Union reporting context) — included in the material as associated with sections.
• Dean Schabner, Matt Gutman, Bill McGuire (reporting context) — included in the material as associated with sections.
• Howard Mann (schools superintendent) — commented on school privacy and grieving.
• Jim Weidhaas (school system spokesman) — commented on maintaining normal school atmosphere focused on learning.
• David Flesch (special education teacher) — described Michael Toler as wonderful.
• Jim Weidhaas (school system spokesman) — said reporters were barred and no memorial services were planned at the school.

The offence

Heinze was convicted in relation to the beating deaths of eight people inside the mobile home they shared. The deaths included Heinze’s father and seven others. Each victim died from multiple crushing blows to the head from what police believed was a shotgun barrel, and autopsies showed they suffered a combined total of more than 220 wounds. The murder weapon was never found.

Heinze was also charged with aggravated assault with intent to murder in the beating of Chrissy Toler’s son, Byron Jimerson, who suffered severe head injuries and later was described as being 7 and living with his paternal grandmother.

Investigation

Police learned of the massacre after Heinze went to a neighbor and then called 911. In a 911 call made the morning the bodies were discovered, Heinze cried out: “My whole family is dead!” and later said he had arrived that morning, Aug. 29, to find family members dead and bleeding and that “It looks like they've been beaten to death, but I don't know, man.”

When police first learned of the massacre, neighbor Margaret Orlinski made a 911 call saying Heinze Jr. was “freaking out,” apparently arriving home to the tableau and saying, “He says everybody is dead.” In the recording, Orlinski coaxes Heinze Jr. and he relayed that “my whole family is dead,” and rushed back into the trailer. Later he yelled back that the ambulance “better hurry,” because his cousin, Michael Toler, was alive and “that his face is smashed in.” Orlinski then told the dispatcher: “I know there's a little baby. ... Shoot, there's a little baby. I don't know if the baby was in there or not.”

During the investigation and trial testimony, evidence handling and contamination prevention were contested. Michael Knox testified for the defense and found numerous faults with the investigation, including breaks in the chain of custody of evidence, discarding of some items that could have been evidence, and contamination of the crime scene. Lt. William Daras testified about evidence handling, including describing faith that evidence was bagged properly, and conceded some investigators did not wear Tyvek suits. Daras also testified about Tyvek-related evidence tracking. Shawn Strohl testified that a Tyvek suit was good practice, that it was “not always done,” and that the suit was for “my protection” and not to prevent transfer of blood evidence from one point to another. Strohl also testified that there was not a clean area inside the mobile home and described the interior as “blood evidence, trash, filth.”

Police said the weapon likely was the barrel of a broken 20-gauge shotgun and that the bloody butt stock was lying on the floor, but “the barrel has never been found.” Police said Heinze had been smoking crack cocaine when he killed his father and the other victims.

Arrest

Guy Heinze Jr. was arrested Friday night and charged with eight counts of murder in the killings. The material described him as being arrested a day later on charges of drug possession, tampering with evidence and other related charges, but later Friday night police announced that he was being charged with the killings.

Matt Doering said at a news conference Friday night that two pieces of evidence had come to light late in the day that led to the arrest and that the chief declined to provide additional details about evidence or possible motive, stating: “This is very much an ongoing investigation,” and “Two pieces of information came forward to us. We took those two pieces of information compared to the whole of the all the evidence collected all week long ... and that led us to believe, that Guy Heinze Jr. is the responsible person.”

Doering said the warrants were served to Heinze in jail, and that Heinze had earlier been released on bond after being held for evidence tampering, lying to police and drug possession; that bond was revoked.

Trial

Heinze’s trial almost ended with a hung jury last week, after three days of deliberations, and prosecutors dropped the death penalty as part of a deal that allowed dismissal of one juror and replacement with an alternate. A guilty verdict was returned four hours later. Jurors were unaware that prosecutors had ruled out a possible death sentence until after they returned with a guilty verdict.

The jury eventually returned guilty verdicts on eight malice murder counts, an aggravated assault with intent to murder charge, and two drug charges. The jury was described as a nine-woman, three-man jury with a replacement member seated at 10:30 a.m., deliberating about four hours before returning guilty verdicts on the eight malice murder counts, the aggravated assault with intent to murder charge, and two drug charges. The previous jury had deliberated two days without reaching a verdict. The material described the removed juror as having said he couldn’t find Heinze guilty and being overheard talking with his wife during a closely monitored visit.

Stephen Scarlett thanked the remaining jurors for service and told the reconstituted jury that deliberations must start anew and cover all 11 counts.

John B. Johnson said prosecutors, with the agreement of the victims’ families, agreed to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option to get the juror replaced. Johnson also stated “Both sides agreed it was an impediment to getting a verdict” regarding the juror.

Afterward, prosecutors said only that there had been “a situation” with the dismissed juror that contributed to the deadlock.

Defense counsel Newell Hamilton Jr. asserted Heinze was innocent and insisted that no one person could have killed all the victims, arguing a single assailant couldn’t have inflicted such carnage. Defense argued Heinze would not kill loved ones over a bottle of weak prescription pills and that police ignored evidence and alternate suspects in a rush to accuse him. Heinze told police he found the victims’ bodies after returning from a late night away from home.

Motive testimony

Lt. William Daras testified about motive during cross-examination. Daras said he believed Heinze wanted Michael Toler’s pills and was rebuffed, and that Heinze later came back, killed the victims, took the pills “and every bit of money in that house,” and then left. Daras testified that the only money found was $61 in Russell Toler Jr.’s pockets.

In another account during cross-examination, Daras testified: “They weren’t going to give him those pills. He was going to get those pills. It started from there.” Daras also testified in response to a question about motive that he believed Heinze tried once to get the pills and failed, returned later, killed the victims, took Michael Toler’s pills and “every bit of money in that house,” and then left.

Hamilton asked Daras how Daras knew any of the victims had money since none worked. Daras testified that victim Joseph West must have had money because he was seen making purchases at a convenience store the night before his death. Daras testified: “I’m saying people have ways of coming across money. People survive. They do odd jobs. They sell stuff.”

Weapon and evidence

Jurors heard evidence that each victim died from multiple crushing blows to the head from what police believed was a shotgun barrel. Police said the bloody butt stock was lying on the floor, but “the barrel has never been found.”

The material described that Heinze took a shotgun from the house and put it in the car he was driving before calling for help for seven already dead and two struggling. Police said inside the car they found Michael Toler and Michelle Toler’s narcotic prescription medication and the cell phone with West’s dried blood on it. It also said Heinze had blood of three victims beneath a pair of khaki shorts, with gym shorts with the blood of three victims, and victims’ blood on his flip-flops.

Drug charges and related evidence

The drug charges, described as a felony and a misdemeanor, arose from prescription painkillers and a small amount of marijuana police found that morning in the car Heinze was driving. The material said he could get a maximum five years on the felony. Hamilton and defense witnesses asserted that no one person could have killed all the victims, but Daras said he believed Heinze alone carried out the killings.

Heinze admitted smoking crack cocaine all night. The material described that Heinze told police he had borrowed the car and that the only money found was $61 in Russell Toler Jr.’s pockets.

Witness testimony: vehicle, drugs, and a confrontation

A defense witness or prosecution witness described events involving a car and drugs. James Adam “Pee Wee” Davis Sr. testified that he is the half brother of Russell Toler Jr., whom he called by his nickname, Home Boy. He testified that just before dark on Aug. 28, Russell Toler Jr. and Guy Heinze Jr. brought him a pair of pliers at Fort King George Motel in Darien so he could work on his car, and stated: “They were driving Home Boy’s Mercury. He never let nobody drive it. He never let me drive it.” Davis testified Heinze asked where he could get some cocaine, saying he had $50 to spend. Davis testified he refused to help Heinze obtain cocaine but provided marijuana that the three smoked together.

Defense arguments during trial

In the opening statement, Hamilton asked how it was possible that eight people could be killed by one person. Hamilton argued: “It’s your theory that Guy Heinze Jr. committed these murders [alone] with a weapon you have not found,” and Daras responded that he believed the murder weapon was the barrel of a shotgun. Daras testified that even with Tyvek shoe coverings evidence could be tracked from one room to another.

The material also described defense criticism of procedures: Hamilton repeatedly asked Daras what he did to ensure policies were followed in every piece of critical evidence seized and failed to investigate leads. Daras said blood of three victims spattered on Heinze’s shorts and other evidence pointed to Heinze. Daras also conceded that some items were not taken into evidence and that clothes with blood spots in a bathroom that should have been taken into evidence were not. Strohl testified about sealing evidence for testing and about there not being a clean area.

Sentencing

Prosecutors dropped the death penalty as an option for Heinze as part of a deal with defense attorneys, allowing the case to avoid a hung jury. Under Georgia law, Heinze faced an automatic life sentence once the death penalty