Saturday, March 23, 2019

Murders of Tommy Joe, Deborah, and Melissa Wideman

On March 22, 2002 around 3:25 a.m. a passing truck driver noticed a home on fire at 13875 Highway 1122 East Rebecca, Georgia. The volunteer fire department soon responded and the home could not be saved. It had sustained significant damage and the roof collapsed within minutes of their arrival.

When the fire was extinguished the badly burnt bodies of the Wideman family was found. 51-year-old Tommy Joe Wideman, 48-year-old Deborah Wideman, and their 20-year-old daughter Melissa Wideman who was 8 months pregnant at the time. They had been housesitting for Tommy Joe's mother at the time.

Autopsies revealed that they did not die from the fire, but from being shot prior to the fire. The fire is considered arson to possibly cover up the crime. The house did not seem to have been robbed and it isn't believed that robbery is the motive.

SOURCES:
Georgia Bureau of Investigations
Tifton Gazette
WALB News

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