Robert “Bob” Packer shot and killed his best friend, James “Pee Wee” Kirby in October of 2010.  Kirby was killed after he was shot in the chest with a twelve gauge shotgun around 3:24 on a Wednesday afternoon.    Bob Packer was intoxicated at the time of the shooting that killed his best friend.  He went on trial for malice murder in November of 2012.  Packer was found not guilty on the malice murder charge and a mistrial was declared on all other counts.

Packer was known to have violent outbursts before, and local law enforcement had received complaints about Packer firing a weapon on several occasions.   He was known for violent outbursts that had been the subjects of complaints and arrests before in both Chattooga and Floyd Counties.

Kirby’s family was not happy with the outcome of the malice murder trial and some of Kirby’s family was reported to have vowed revenge.  In the end it was Packer’s own girlfriend that fired fatal shots ending his life.

Investigators believe that Elaine Wilkins fired shots from Packer’s own Colt .45 handgun into his back fatally wounding him on June 14th of last year.  Wilkins called 911 and told dispatchers that Packer was dead.  The sheriff’s department looked for several days to find the weapon which was eventually found in a pond not far from the scene of the murder.

 Wilkins goes on trial for the murder of Packer this week in Chattooga County Superior Court and is being represented by David Dunn who heads the public defender’s office.