Nearly six years after the body of Edith Sheffield was found in her charred South Georgia home, local and state investigators have arrested her husband in connection with the brutal slaying.
Timothy Larue Sheffield was arrested Friday on charges of murder, arson, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, the GBI said in a statement.
Credit: Coffee County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Coffee County Sheriff's Office
According to the agency, Edith Sheffield was shot multiple times in the head on Jan. 18, 2013, and left in her home in the small Coffee County town of Braxton. The house was then set on fire. Her body was found as authorities dug through the wreckage of the home. She was 49.
The death of the well-liked mother and grandmother stunned the community and had been considered a cold case. It was featured in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article last December and an online gallery of the GBI's unsolved homicide case files.
The AJC reported that Timothy Sheffield had been interviewed by investigators previously. He vehemently denied any involvement.
GBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Pro said at the time, however, that he had not been ruled out as a suspect.
“He was one of the last people to see her alive,” Pro said. “He lived at the residence, and he was near the residence at the time, so we can’t really exclude him.”
He declined to say what led officials to arrest Timothy Sheffield, who is being held at the Coffee County Jail. According to jail administration, he was denied bond.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office at 912-384-4227 or the GBI at 912-389-4103.
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