A Chattanooga man shot and killed his estranged wife and mother-in-law Friday night at Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe.
James L. Benson, 59, of 2206 E. 34th St., is facing two counts of murder.
The victims are Mary Sue Benson, 56, of 491 Warren St., Rossville, and Charlotte Edith Johnson, 77, of 4216 Seneca Ave., Chattanooga.
Authorities said family members had been visiting a relative at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit on the second floor of the hospital. Fort Oglethorpe Police Chief David Eubanks said conflict between the family had been going on for several weeks.
He said earlier in the week there had been an argument among the family at the hospital and Benson was asked to leave when he got a little loud. He said they had another confrontation on Friday and Benson told them "they’d be sorry." He went to his car, returned with a gun and first shot his mother-in-law and then his wife in a waiting room at the ICU.
Haley Johnson, hospital spokesperson, said, however, "Mr. Benson had visited the hospital several times over the last week with no issues. He was never asked by any of the hospital staff to leave the premises yesterday either due to inappropriate behavior.
"There was confrontation between the family, but the hospital staff did not ask him to leave and were not aware of the confrontation."
The wife died at the scene and the mother-in-law died in surgery at Erlanger Hospital after being flown by LifeForce helicopter.
Benson went directly to his car that was parked in front of the hospital. He drove straight to the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department and turned himself in to a detective. Chief Eubanks said Benson walked up to the detective with a soft drink in his hand.
Benson had no prior criminal record.
Police say the shooting was a domestic incident and involved only family members. No hospital staff were hurt.
The hospital was on lockdown for several hours.
Corky Jewell, hospital board chairman, said the incident "could have occurred anywhere" and he said it would have taken an extraordinary security setup to prevent it.
He said the hospital had 24/7 security. He said additional security personnel were brought in from Erlanger after the incident. Hospital security officers are unarmed.
Chief Eubanks said, "I don’t know that it would have been possible to have prevented this incident."
The Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, TBI, the Georgia State Patrol, the Fort Oglethorpe Police and the coroner’s office all went to the scence.
The hospital sits partially in Walker and partially in Catoosa County. The crime scene appears to be on the Walker County side. Fort Oglethorpe is in Walker County, and the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department was made the lead agency in the case on Friday night.
Officials said it was the first shooting at the hospital in its more than a half-century history.
Benson, who worked as a security guard, made his first court appearance on Saturday afternoon. He did not speak during the brief hearing.
He is being held at the Walker County Jail in LaFayette.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said from 75-100 officers were at the hospital in the wake of the shooting.
He said he did not believe any law enforcement agency had been advised of the family conflict.
Benson fired all five shots from a Taurus 38 handgun. He apparently had the gun in a jacket pocket.
All of the bullets went into the chests of the two victims.
The Floyd County Sheriff’s Department issued a rule last week that cell phones will no longer be allowed in the Floyd County Courthouse starting on March1, 2012. Courthouse employees, judges and attorneys are exempt from the new rule.
Chattooga County has banned cell phones at the county courthouse in Summerville for several years. Despite the fact that the rule has been in place for some time, some people still try to come into the courthouse with cell phones, pocket knives and other items that are not allowed.
The best idea when you are going to the courthouse is to leave your cell phone at home, or locked up in your vehicle.
Attorneys met in DeKalb County on Wednesday in a status hearing for Karri Willoughby, who is charged with capital murder in the death of her stepfather, Billy Junior Shaw.
Final preparations are taking place as the trial date of February 6th draws near.
District Attorney Mike O`Dell, Deputy District Attorney Bob Johnston, and the attorney for Karri Willoughby – Bruce Gardner – met in Circuit Judge David Rains` courtroom to discuss a number of topics, including the jury selection process, courtroom seating and witness stipulations.
Willoughby is charged with killing her step-father through a lethal injection of propofol the same drug involved in the death of pop star Michael Jackson, in April of 2008.
Authorities exhumed Shaw`s body in May 2009 – after receiving information that he had not died of natural causes, as originally thought. Following an autopsy, the medical examiner concluded that Shaw died from a lethal injection of drugs and the manner of death was homicide.
Willoughby told investigators she found Shaw dead in his home.
Her attorney confirmed that Willoughby took the drugs in April 2008, from Chattanooga Surgery Center where she worked as a nurse from March 2007 to May 2009.
Prosecutors say Willoughby stood to inherit a portion of Shaw`s estate, valued between $200,000 and $300,000. Willoughby pleaded not guilty in October 2010.
She remains in the DeKalb County Jail without bond.
Mrs. Mildred Christeen Hunter, age 73, of Summerville, passed away Saturday, January 7, 2012 at her residence.
Mrs. Hunter was born in Trion, Georgia on August 23, 1938, daughter of the late Milas and Alma Blackmon Hawkins. She retired from Mt. Vernon Mills where she worked in the Weave Shop.
Mrs. Hunter is survived by her husband, James Hunter; son, James Wesley Hunter and his wife, Tracy Johnson; daughters and sons-in-law, Beverly and Joel Johnson and Tammie and Curtis Haddock; grandchildren and great grandchildren, Christy Timmons, Shannon Timmons, Eddie Timmons, Jr., Josh Timmons, Blake Timmons, Dalton Hunter, Dylon Hunter, Charlie Hunter, Sara Hunter, Logan Johnson, Jasmine Johnson, Laureu Haddock, Joshua Haddock, Therease Johnson, Sabrina Johnson, Crystal Johnson, Skylar Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Matthew Johnson and Sean Johnson.
Memorial Services for Mrs. Hunter will be held Monday, January 9, 2011 at 11:00 A.M. in the Chapel of the Mason Funeral Home with Chaplain Alan Fuller officiating.
The family will gather at the Mason Funeral Home on Monday and will receive friends from 10:00 A.M. until the service hour.
First-Young Farmer Banquet– Jan. 14,2012 6:00 p.m.
Reynolds Barn- Steak Dinner $15
Entertainment – The Baileys
RSVP by January 11 for the meal
Second – Thursday, January 19,2012
Time: 7:00 p.m
Program: Elite Fences (Quality Livestock Panels)
SPEAKER: Calvin Losh– Door Prize will be given!
Where: SMS Ag room (Around Back)
NOTE: Roast Pork/Baked Potato @ $5 per
RSVP: By Monday, January 16,2012 for the meal.
Phone:(706)857-2402- enter Ext.1115 or (256)523-1468
Leave a message OR
Email: bbailey@chattooga.k12.ga.us
Chad Dewayne Tidmore, age 22 of Summerville, Charged with Arson – 1st Degree
Anne Lou Fowler, age 57 of Summerville, Charged with DUI / Drugs, Failure to Maintain a Single Lane, VGCSA – Possession of Schedule IV Drug, Crossing Guard Lines with Drugs, Drugs to be kept in Original Container
Lauren Ashley Baxter, age 26 of Rome, Charged with Deposit Account Fraud
Denissia Lenee Fife, age 33 of Summerville, Charged with Driving with Suspended / Revoked License
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black released a report earlier this week on agriculture labor in Georgia, offering practical solutions to address the concerns of Georgia’s largest and oldest industry. The report, required by Georgia House Bill 87, was delivered to Governor Nathan Deal, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and Speaker David Ralston earlier today.
“The results of this survey continue to make clear that the solution to labor issues facing Georgia producers rests in the hands of the federal government,” Black said Tuesday. “Agriculture is our state’s number one industry, yet the federal government is failing to provide our farmers with the skilled labor they need to harvest crops in a legal and efficient manner. It is time that our friends in Washington step up to the plate and provide us with a system that works.”
The first recommendation in the report points out that only the federal government has the ability to reform existing agriculture guest worker programs to make them useful and effective for farmers. Available options for farmers are too cumbersome, unreliable and bureaucratic to be practical in today’s modern economy. Additionally, more resources need to be put in place for educating the agriculture industry about the federal H-2A program. The third and final recommendation suggests more research be conducted in order to fully understand the complexity of agriculture labor in Georgia.
“More than 40 percent of respondents in our study said the federal H-2A program is not applicable to their operations,” Black said, noting this includes year-round agriculture needs, such as dairies, ginners and landscapers. “Another 20 percent of respondents were completely unfamiliar with the option of H-2A for hiring workers and an additional 16 percent had only heard negative things about it.
“The findings of this report also indicate there are opportunities for improved relations between the agriculture community and the Department of Labor for worker recruitment, while education and outreach will help provide better resources for growers,” Black continued.
Black noted in 2011, Georgia Senators and Representatives offered proposed federal legislation addressing agriculture labor. “We need Senators and Representatives from other states to join this effort in creating a solution to fix the problem,” he said. “Our livelihoods are at stake.”
As consumers increasingly want to know more about where their food comes from, the Department of Agriculture’s survey illustrates the need for a real discussion about a solution to fix labor issues.
“Georgians are concerned about where their food comes from; it is important to them. Our state has a great production capacity, but we need an effective way to get those products from the farm to the table,” Black said. “I challenge consumers to look at the produce available in local stores – you’ll always be able to find blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches and the other products you desire – but where these products are grown and sold is directly linked to who is available to harvest them.”
The study obtained responses from 138 Georgia counties, with more than 800 producers responding to the survey, including those from small and large scale operations.
The full report is available online here: http://www.agr.georgia.gov/AgLaborReport.pdf. Additional highlights from the report can be found here:
- Forty-eight percent of respondents found their part-time workforce to be roughly the same over the past five years, while 20 percent reported their workforce to be smaller.
- Twenty-one percent of respondents indicated that fewer full- and part-time workers were hired in 2011 when compared to the last five years; major reasons included a poor economy, loss of revenue, poor worker retention and lack of available workers.
- It is unknown if the lack of full- and part-time workers in 2011 was a direct result of the passage of Georgia HB87, however, the study’s findings suggest this could be an issue and identifies a perception that the lack of workers could be related to the passage of HB87.
- The survey shows producers pay both full and part time workers at, or above, federal minimum wage.
- In 2011, more than 50 percent of survey respondents who are producers of blueberries, cabbage, cantaloupe, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, squash, tobacco and watermelon reported income losses.
- More than 40 percent of respondents said H-2A was not applicable to their farming operations; another 20 percent indicated they were unfamiliar with the program.
- Most respondents use word of mouth to recruit workers; approximately 13 percent use the Georgia Department of Labor and 3.4 percent reported using H-2A.