George Zinkhan

Case record: George Martin Zinkhan III

Identity

George Martin Zinkhan, III (February 17, 1952 – c. May 9, 2009) was an American academic and poet.

He was a professor of marketing at the University of Georgia from 1994 until April 26, 2009. He was also described as having an impeccable track record as a teacher and being a respected professor on campus.

Background

Zinkhan received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Swarthmore College in 1974.

He received a Masters in Business Administration with high distinction from the University of Michigan in 1979.

He received his doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1981.

He served as the Conn Professor of Marketing for thirteen years at the University of Houston beginning in 1981.

He served as an associate professor for the University of Pittsburgh in 1987 for one year.

He began as a professor at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business in 1994 and served as Department head for Terry's Department of Marketing and Distribution from 1994 until 2001.

He held an endowed chair as the department's Coca-Cola Company Professor from 1994 to 2009.

Zinkhan received awards including:

• An award for Outstanding Contribution to Research in 2004, presented by the American Academy of Advertising.
• The Terry Outstanding Faculty Award in 2006 and 2009 presented by the economics faculty of the Vrije Universiteit.

Zinkhan published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and numerous chapters in edited books.

He was the editor of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science from 2003 to 2009.

He was the editor of the Journal of Advertising from 1991 to 1995.

He was the book review editor of the Journal of Marketing from 1991 to 1995.

He edited or co-edited books including:

• Arnould, Eric; Linda Price, George Zinkhan (2004). Consumers. McGraw Hill / Irwin. ISBN 0-07-253714-0.
• Watson, Richard; Pierre Berthon, Leyland F. Pitt, George Zinkhan (2000). Electronic Commerce: The Strategic Perspective. Thompson / Dryden. pp. 162. ISBN 0-03-026533-9.
• Zinkhan, George M. (2000). Advertising research: the Internet, consumer behavior, and strategy. Chicago, Ill: American Marketing Association. ISBN 0-87757-288-7.

His curriculum vitae listed 22 works under a section called “Research Activities: Poetry.”

Zinkhan’s poems covered topics ranging from university politics to the Appalachian Trail.

Personal life

Zinkhan had two children, a son and a daughter, with his wife, attorney Marie Bruce.

He also had three children from a previous marriage.

The family lived in Bogart in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Zinkhan owned a second home in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, where he was a marketing professor at the Vrije Universiteit.

The offence

Zinkhan was named the prime suspect in the April 25, 2009 shooting deaths of his wife and two other people: Tom Tanner and Ben Teague, outside the Athens Community Theatre in Athens-Clarke County in northeast Georgia.

The murders occurred during a picnic reunion of the Town & Gown Players.

All three victims were active in local theater productions.

Two bystanders were injured by bullet fragments.

Police said Zinkhan and his wife, Marie Bruce, were having “marital difficulties,” that Tom Tanner appeared to be his “specific target” in the shootings, and that Ben Teague was “at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Police said Tanner was shot first.

At least a dozen witnesses saw Zinkhan, described as a 57-year-old marketing professor at UGA, gun down his 47-year-old wife, Tanner (40), and Teague (63) in broad daylight.

Zinkhan fled immediately after the shooting in his red Jeep Liberty with the couple’s two children inside.

After dropping off his 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son at the home of next-door neighbor Bob Covington in the Huntington subdivision off Cleveland Road in Bogart, Zinkhan drove off and was never seen again.

Witnesses said an argument ensued between Bruce and Zinkhan, who left the party, and that he returned with two handguns and started shooting, hitting Bruce, Tanner, and Teague multiple times.

Before the shootings, it was stated that there had been no advance signs of trouble, according to neighbors and colleagues.

A nationwide manhunt began after the April 25 shooting deaths of three people: Zinkhan’s estranged wife, Marie Bruce, and Ben Teague and Tom Tanner.

Statements about motives and related context included:

• Police said Zinkhan and his wife had “marital difficulties,” and that Tanner appeared to be his “specific target” while Teague was “at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
• An account included that the community grasped for answers and that the act of violence was described as having been committed by the endowed professor.
• Possible love triangle information included that CBS News has reported there may have been a love triangle, and that Bruce was having an affair with Tanner, a set designer for the company who was starring as Watson in that weekend's production of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure.
• It was also stated that Teague may have been killed trying to help, and Capt. Clarence Holeman said: “I have no idea why he did it. People got their own theories but I would rather not speculate on what it is that started this. To be honest, I am old school: It doesn't matter what the target was or why. Three people are dead.”

Zinkhan had been described as an avid hiker who wrote poetry about his frequent treks on the Appalachian trail.

It was stated that before the shootings he bought a plane ticket for Amsterdam, where he has taught in the summers and reportedly owns a house.

Investigation

Police response and search

After the April 25 shootings, authorities triggered an international manhunt.

On April 30, 2009, Zinkhan’s red Jeep Liberty was found on the night of April 30, 2009, in northwest Clarke County, Georgia.

A search by dozens of heavily armed law enforcement officers over more than 1,100 acres of Clarke and Jackson counties failed to locate Zinkhan.

Investigators later said that Zinkhan used a shovel to dig a grave in the woods behind an elementary school, lay down in it, took an old wooden pallet covered with dirt and debris and pulled it over top of the hole, and then fired a single shot from a .38-caliber handgun into his head.

It was stated that no suicide note had been discovered.

Cadaver dogs located Zinkhan's body on May 9, 2009, approximately one mile from the Jeep.

The body was tentatively identified as Zinkhan’s, with dental records planned for final identification.

Evidence details found at the grave and in the vehicle

Investigators said Zinkhan’s body was purposely concealed in a manner not to be discovered and that the body was beneath the earth.

Searchers found two handguns in the grave.

Inside the makeshift grave, it was stated that Zinkhan was found with a shovel and a gray Puma sports bag containing clothes, ammunition, the .38-caliber handgun, and a .22-caliber handgun, described as one of the two firearms used in the murders.

It was stated that Zinkhan’s cell phone, laptop, passport, wallet, identification, and cash were found hidden inside his vehicle.

A map to the home of Barbara Carroll, a UGA marketing colleague with whom Zinkhan had work-related problems, was found in Zinkhan’s abandoned vehicle.

It was stated that the map was printed the day before the murders.

Jim Fullington, GBI special agent in charge in Athens, discussed uncertainties about timeframes based on autopsy: “We have a range of when he died. It's not an exact science like it appears to be on TV [shows]. But the autopsy determined that he had been dead for at least five days and up to 14 days, which is the last day he was seen alive.”

Maj. Mark Sizemore said: “I think we were very fortunate, given the circumstances and the steps he took to conceal himself, to have some kind of resolution at this time.” “Clearly, looking at that particular scene, it could have been a long time. Really it was only through the vigilance of the groups that worked on the case, focused here and outside our county.”

Maj. Mark Sizemore also said: “We didn’t find anything to indicate he tried to live or survive out there for any period of time. In searching the woods, there was no evidence of food or water or anything like that. As a matter of fact there was a bottle of water still in the Jeep. There's no reason to believe he stayed alive out there over a period of time.”

Maj. Mark Sizemore said about speculation on concealment: “I can only speculate that it is likely that he didn't want to be found and he didn't want the Jeep to be found.” “Clearly he didn't want to be located.”

Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Jack Lumpkin said: “A person not accustomed to the woods would not have found it.” “The body was beneath the earth… The body was purposely concealed in a manner not to be discovered.”

Manhunt context and community actions

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Law enforcement authorities intensified their search for leads in recent days and distributed a GBI sketch of Zinkhan clean shaven and without a beard.

University President Michael F. Adams thanked law enforcement agencies that worked on the investigation and offered condolences to the families and friends of the victims, saying: “Our hearts go out to each of them as they try to bring closure to and cope with the pain and sorrow these losses of life have caused them.” “May they ultimately find healing and peace.”

Police said the body was discovered by cadaver dogs located at 9:50 a.m. Saturday, with the civilian Alpha Search and Rescue Team working woods beyond the initial search area.

The temporary grave was in thick woods about 1,000 yards from Cleveland Road Elementary School and about a mile from where Zinkhan’s red Jeep Liberty was recovered more than a week earlier.

The playground at Cleveland Road Elementary School was cordoned off since the grave was only about 1,000 yards away, and toddlers and their parents were attending a birthday party at the school’s gym.

It was stated that Aaron Clanton, a teacher at the school, arrived around 10:40 a.m. for his son’s party that was supposed to take place at the school playground and that police were already on the scene.

Jim Fullington said the body was clothed much like the way Zinkhan was described the last time he was seen.

The police chief said it was the second time in his 35 years in law enforcement that he had encountered a suicide victim who buried themselves first: “My wife and I moved to…” (Only the following quotation was provided in the source about this point:)

The police chief said: “The police chief said this was the second time in his 35 years in law enforcement that he had encountered a suicide victim who buried themselves first.”

Arrest and charges

Zinkhan was charged on April 25, 2009, with three counts of murder, and a state arrest warrant was issued in Clarke County, Georgia.

A federal arrest warrant was issued on April 26, 2009, after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Timeline

• February 17, 1952 — George Martin Zinkhan, III was born.
• 1974 — Zinkhan received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Swarthmore College.
• 1979 — Zinkhan received a Masters in Business Administration with high distinction from the University of Michigan.
• 1981 — Zinkhan received his doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
• 1981 — Zinkhan became the Conn Professor of Marketing for thirteen years at the University of Houston beginning in 1981.
• 1987 — Zinkhan served as an associate professor for the University of Pittsburgh in 1987 for one year.
• 1994 — Zinkhan began as a professor at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business and was Department head for Terry's Department of Marketing and Distribution from 1994 until 2001.
• 1994 — Zinkhan became the department's Coca-Cola Company Professor from 1994 to 2009.
• 1991–1995 — Zinkhan served as editor of the Journal of Advertising and book review editor of the Journal of Marketing from 1991 to 1995.
• 2000 — Zinkhan published Advertising research: the Internet, consumer behavior, and strategy.
• 2003–2009 — Zinkhan served as editor of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
• 2004 — Zinkhan received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Research.
• 2006 — Zinkhan received the Terry Outstanding Faculty Award.
• 2009 — Zinkhan received the Terry Outstanding Faculty Award and ended his professorship at the University of Georgia on April 26, 2009.
• April 25, 2009 — Zinkhan was named prime suspect in the shooting deaths of Marie Bruce, Tom Tanner, and Ben Teague; he was charged with three counts of murder and a state arrest warrant was issued in Clarke County, Georgia.
• April 26, 2009 — A federal arrest warrant was issued after Zinkhan was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
• April 30, 2009 — Zinkhan’s red Jeep Liberty was found on the night of April 30, 2009, in northwest Clarke County, Georgia.
• May 9, 2009 — Cadaver dogs located Zinkhan’s body.

Death and conclusion

Police said Zinkhan committed suicide by firing a single shot into his head.

Investigators described concealment steps involving digging a 15- to 18-inch deep grave in the woods behind Cleveland Road Elementary School, covering it with an old wooden pallet and debris, and firing a .38-caliber handgun into his head.

Zinkhan’s body was claimed by a son from a previous marriage one day before it was scheduled for burial in a pauper's grave by the Athens-Clarke County coroner's office.

Exactly when Zinkhan killed himself was described as a mystery; police said an autopsy revealed he’d been dead five to 14 days when his body was discovered by cadaver dogs.

Jim Fullington said the autopsy determined he had been dead for at least five days and up to 14 days, which he described as the last day he was seen alive.

Maj. Mark Sizemore said there were no indications Zinkhan attempted to live or survive out there, and that there was a bottle of water still in the Jeep.

Police said there were no indications he’d attempted to live in the woods of northwestern Clarke County for any period of time.

No suicide note was discovered.

Other details

A quote about Zinkhan’s colleagues included: “I am absolutely flabbergasted by this,” stated University of Wyoming professor Eric Arnould, who wrote several textbooks with Zinkhan. “Two pistols and the Wild West thing? Extremely bizarre. There was no inkling whatsoever that he was capable of this kind of violence. If you want to paint him like that, go ahead, but it would be totally inaccurate.”

Bob Covington said: “He asked me if I could keep his kids for about an hour and said there was some type of emergency.” “All she would relate to me was there was something about a firecracker.”

Capt. Clarence Holeman said: “I have no idea why he did it.” Three people are dead.”

Police said it all began at around 11:30 a.m. when Zinkhan had a heated argument with his wife Marie Bruce at a reunion picnic she was having with the Town and Gown Players.

An account stated that Zinkhan went back to his red Jeep Liberty where his two children were waiting, then allegedly returned to the theater where he shot and killed Bruce and two of her friends: Ben Teague and Tom Tanner, with a pair of handguns.

Zinkhan was described as having cancelled classes the week before the shooting.

An account stated that Zinkhan drove off never to be seen again after dropping off his children at Bob Covington’s home.