BLAKE TYLER CHAPPELL - 17 yo - Senoia/ Newnan GA

NEWNAN, Ga. —
Newnan police have identified a body found earlier this week as a missing teenager, and they’re labeling his death a homicide.

The body was found in a creek on Monday. A check of area missing persons reports turned up a report of a missing 17-year-old from Senoia made on Oct. 16.

Information from the missing teen’s family regarding jewelry and a tattoo led police to identify the body as Blake Tyler Chappell, the missing teen.

The medical examiner said Chappell died of a gunshot wound. Police are treating his death as a homicide.

Chappell was last seen early in the morning on Oct. 16 at a friend’s house in the Olmstead subdivision. He left the house to walk to another friend’s house in the Summergrove subdivision, but he never arrived and had not been heard from since.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/body-idd-missing-teen/nF7qB/

http://www.times-herald.com/Local/Body-Senoia-teen-killed-by-gunshot--1995258

The body found Monday in a creek running through the SummerGrove neighborhood off Lower Fayetteville Road in Newnan was a 17-year-old from Senoia who died from a gunshot wound.

Blake Tyler Chappell, reported missing since Oct. 16, was identified as the victim based on jewelry found on the body and a particular tattoo, according to Newnan Police officials.

"[The gunshot] was definitely not self-inflicted," said Deputy Police Chief Rodney Riggs of the Newnan Police Department. He declined to elaborate where Chappell was shot, citing the ongoing investigation.


This will be the first homicide in Newnan this year.

Authorities recovered Chappell's body, clad only in an undershirt and underpants, in a small creek that runs alongside the driving range at the SummerGrove golf course.

They made a tentative identification soon after the body was discovered by checking missing person reports.

An autopsy conducted Wednesday determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound, according to a police press release. Chappell was identified based on various jewelry, including a pierced bottom lip, a "Playboy" tattoo on the left side of his upper chest, and information provided by the family.

Riggs said authorities will confirm the identity with DNA tests, but added, "we are confident it is Blake."

Chappell's body was in the water for several days and was decomposed; however the autopsy investigation has yet to determine exactly when Chappell was killed, Riggs said.

It is not clear yet if Chappell was shot Oct. 16, or at another time. It also remains unclear as to when Chappell's body was dumped in the creek or exactly where.

The creek where Chappell's body was found runs under SummerGrove Parkway, the main thoroughfare through the subdivision. It is heavily trafficked by vehicles and pedestrians; and based on where the body was found, it could easily be seen by people walking by. However, it was not discovered until Monday.

According to a missing person report filed Oct. 16, Chappell left a friend's house on Highwoods Parkway about 2 a.m. on Oct 16. He then went to his girlfriend's house on Avondale Circle.

He was last seen about 7:30 a.m. by a clerk at the BP gas station on Market Square inside SummerGrove, according to the missing person report.

Riggs said Chappell was headed back to his friend's house, but never made it.

It is stated in both the police report and press release that there has been no contact between Chappell and his family and friends since Oct. 16.