Shallow grave: What we know about Augusta murder suspect, victim
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We’re starting to put more pieces together in the case of a man accused of murdering someone and then burying the body in a shallow grave in his backyard.
Colby Jovan Smith, 30, was detained on the scene after the body was found Monday in the 800 block of Heard Avenue, nearly a month after the murder.
Smith remained in Richmond County jail on Wednesday on charges of murder and concealing a death.
The call to deputies came in broad daylight Monday. The call was about suspicious activity, which led them to find a body in a swallow hole covered with blue tarp.
We still don’t know the name of the victim, but he appears to be a male, since he’s listed on an arrest warrant as “John Doe.”
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The murder arrest warrant accuses Smith of “impaling the victim with a knife” on Oct. 1. One neighbor told News 12 they grew concerned around that same time.
The victim used to bring the neighbor their mail and when that stopped, questions started.
“The victim would later succumb to their injuries” after the crime occurred at 843½ Heard Avenue, according to the arrest warrant.
The shocking part for neighbors is they aren’t sure exactly how long this person was buried in their backyards.
READ THE ARREST WARRANTS:
The arrest warrant for concealing a death accuses Smith of moving the body to the backyard, digging a shallow grave and placing the body in it, and cleaning any DNA evidence from within the residence that belonged to the victim.
A neighbor on Wednesday showed News 12 where the crime happened and where the body was buried. A blue tarp even still kept the vague shape of a body on Wednesday afternoon.
The neighbor called their landlord shortly before they discovered their neighbor. They did a wellness check and didn’t find the neighbor.
As for motive, we still don’t know anything about that.
But the autopsy may shed more light on the case. The body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation lab for identification.
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