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Metro Atlanta

Man charged in Gwinnett cold case killing 2 years after bones found

David Thacker, 41, has been charged with murder in connection with the 2014 death of 54-year-old Michael Jones.

Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department

Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department

David Thacker, 41, has been charged with murder in connection with the 2014 death of 54-year-old Michael Jones.
By Amanda C. Coyne
June 19, 2018

An arrest has been made in the death of Michael Jones, whose remains were found in rural Gwinnett County in 2016.

David Thacker, 41, was already in jail when warrants for aggravated assault and felony murder were served to him. Thacker is in custody at Forsyth County Jail on unrelated charges.

READ | Boyfriend charged 6 months after woman found dead at Gwinnett Place Mall

Thacker was a person of interest early in the investigation of Jones’ death, Gwinnett County police said. The two were known to have a “disagreement” before Jones was reported missing in 2014. New information learned by detectives in recent months allowed warrants to be obtained for Thacker’s arrest. That information is not currently being disclosed.

Jones, 54, was reported missing by his family in April 2014. A deer hunter in Auburn found a human skull and other bones in a wooded area on May 25, 2016, and called 911. After the Medical Examiner’s Office and Gwinnett County police responded to the scene, the bones were identified as Jones’ remains.

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An arrest has been made in the death of Silling Man, whose body was found in a vacant restaurant in the Gwinnett Place Mall in December.

About the Author

Amanda Coyne is a hyperlocal reporter for the AJC, covering Gwinnett County.

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