The HEINZE and TOLER Children (2009)/ Convicted: Guy Heinze Jr. - Glynn County GA

Glynn County authorities said Monday they have expanded the search for evidence around the home where the murders of eight people took place, but they will not say how far the search is taking them.

On Sunday, volunteers and investigators searched two miles out from the home in New Hope Plantation mobile home park off Highway 17, but found nothing.

Police released the 911 call made by Guy Heinze, Jr..  Police said Heinze was the family member who discovered the bodies Saturday morning.

The community is still on edge after 7 people were found dead and 2 critically injured just after 8:00 a.m. Saturday.  Police said one of the two injured victims, Michael Toler, 19, had died at noon Sunday at a Savannah hospital.  The other victim is still in critical condition at the hospital.

A neighbor of the family who does not want to be identified tells News 3 that Michael Toler, 19, had Down syndrome. “He had been through multiple surgeries throughout his short life… He was loud at times, very boisterous and always smiling. He loved to go fishing with his dad,“ said the neighbor.

The neighbor said Michael lived in the home with his father, Rusty Toler, two sisters, and a brother.  The neighbor also said one of the sisters had a three year-old child and boyfriend living in the home and says Guy Heinze, Jr., and his father Guy Heinze, Sr., also lived there, but the Heinzes and Tolers were not blood-related.

Police said autopsies on four of the victims were conducted Sunday, and more autopsies were perfomed Monday.

At 3:00 p.m. Monday, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering did not know how many had been completed.

He declined to release any more identities of the victims. When asked about the lack of information being released, Doering acknowledged the community’s frustration.

“This is a very difficult investigation as I know you are all aware. And right now we’re doing everything we can possibly do in order to find those responsible and figure out what happened. And I have to be very careful not to release those details that can jeopardize that investigation,“ said Doering.

Doering said they are now getting assistance from the FBI and US Marshals in the investigation. Police have made no new arrests and so far have no named suspects. Doering said as far as he knew, the $25,000 reward had generated no significant information.

Authorities have also declined to say how the victims were killed.

Glynn County Coroner Jimmy Durden tells News 3 all the victims were found in beds and on the floor of the home and had been there overnight before they were discovered.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Glynn County’s Silent Witness Line at 912-264-1333.  

There is a benefit fund set up to help the family with funeral expenses.  You can make donations to the Toler Funeral Fund at any Southeastern Bank branch.

Three-year-old Byron Jimmerson, the lone survivor of Saturday's mass killing at a north Glynn County trailer park, is improving in a Savannah hospital, according to relatives of the victims. The child is still in the hospital but "is doing better," said Alva Cross, 46.

Cross, who is the sister of Russell "Rusty" Toler, said her brother was among those killed in the trailer park massacre. Rusty, 45, is the grandfather of Jimmerson and the father of Michael Toler, 19, who is the only fatality identified publicly by police, Cross said.

In the 911 call made by Guy Heinze, who discovered the bodies, he mentiond Rusty as one of the victims.

 A Toler family relief fund has been set up through Southeastern Bank, Cross said.

Glynn County police released audio Monday of the 911 call Saturday morning of callers reporting a mass killing in a trailer at New Hope Plantation mobile home park.

"I just got home. My whole family is dead," a frantic caller says. "It looks like they've been beat to death."

With no publicly identified suspects in the killings Saturday of seven people in a trailer at the north Glynn County mobile home park and an eighth dying Sunday, police turned to money to try to lure out information on the killer or killers.

Police Chief Matt Doering said Sunday night that the county is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the slayings at New Hope Plantation mobile home park on U.S. 17 North, adjacent to Hofwyl Plantation historic site.

"Suspects remain unknown to us," Doering said. "We can't tell you if they're at large or not at large."

Any search is not confined to Glynn County, Doering said. "The person or persons who did this could potentially be anywhere," he said.

Glynn County police are continuing to unravel the grisly details of the shootings that left seven people immediately dead in a single-wide trailer.

That death toll rose at noon Sunday with the death of Michael Toler, 19, the first victim of the mass slaying whose name has been made public. Doering said Toler lived at the mobile home. A Facebook page identified him at the time it was posted as a Glynn Academy student.

Toler died from brain injuries resulting from gunshot wounds, according to a spokesperson for Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. His body has been sent to the Georgia Crime Laboratory in Savannah for an autopsy. There was no public report of what type of firearm was used.

A ninth victim of the shooting, reportedly a juvenile, remained in critical condition Sunday night in Savannah.

Police found the carnage in the mobile home when they responded to a 911 call shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday. Inside the trailer on Lot 147 of the mobile home park they discovered seven people dead and two clinging to life.

Doering continued through the weekend to decline to say how the victims were killed, but an official close to investigation said they had been shot. Evidence puts the time of deaths after midnight Friday, police said.

Doering, who released few details of the crime during media briefings Saturday and Sunday, called the scene inside the trailer "horrific" and said it was one of the deadliest crime scenes in recent county history."It was not a pretty sight," he said.

Saturday, Doering had said police were not looking for a suspect.

When asked Sunday afternoon about the possibility of a suspect not being in custody, Doering urged the public to not let its guard down.

"There is cause for concern," Doering said. "Be aware. Be alert. Don't think everything is OK, because right now it is not."

At 9 p.m. Sunday he said an unknown suspect or suspects were on the loose and police needed the public's help to make an arrest. He is encouraging anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious to call Silent witness at 264-1333.

Doering said that there could be more than one person responsible for the murders. There is no evidence to suggest that a suicide occurred in connection with the slayings.

"Evidence collected at the scene has been helpful," he said Sunday night. "We'll be going back in the morning for more."

Doering was coy throughout Sunday about the status of Guy Heinze, 22, of Glynn County, who had made the emergency call to 911 Saturday morning and was arrested at about 7 p.m. Saturday on charges of tampering with evidence, obstruction of an officer and illegal drug possession.

Heinze, who police said was an immediate family member of at least one of the victims, was being held without bond in the Glynn County Detention Center and was said to be cooperating with police.

Doering said he would not characterize Heinze as a suspect in the homicides. "I'm not going to rule him out, but I'm not going to call him a suspect."

Doering has declined to say where victims were found in the trailer.

Investigators worked the scene Saturday and Sunday while the area around the mobile home remained cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. Family members of the victims have been helpful and are cooperating with police, Doering said.

Tentative identifications have been made on all the victims, but Doering said, prior to the identification of Toler, that he was not at liberty to release their names and ages. He would say only that ages ranged from children to people in their mid-40s.

"There were no infants," he said, in response to rumors.

Doering would not say if all the victims were killed in the same manner.

Autopsies on the victims began shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday and Doering said they may take at least two days to complete.

At a media briefing at 9 p.m. Sunday at the trailer park he said four autopsies had been completed, but he did not provide any details.

"It's a slow, meticulous process," he said earlier in the day.

Doering said identities of victims would not be made public until after autopsies are completed, nor would bodies be released to family members.

At least some of the bodies were so disfigured in the attack that visual identifications were impossible.

Police contacted Glynn County school officials to obtain fingerprint identification for one of the victims, according to Leslie McCracken, executive director for Glynn County Schools.

She said, however, that the school system did not have the information that would have been helpful to the investigation.

McCracken declined to identify the student, but said the child attended one of three schools to which children who live in the mobile home park are assigned: C.B. Greer Elementary, Needwood Middle or Glynn Academy.

Principals of those schools have been contacted, McCracken said, and grief support will be available to students there.

Doering said 12 volunteers were searching the area of the trailer park for any evidence but as of Sunday afternoon had found nothing.

He said police were also searching isolated pockets up to 15 miles away.

Doering said police have established a time-frame for when the rampage occurred.

"We had a 12-hour window, but we've now narrowed that down to six or eight hours," he said. "And we've been able to eliminate some persons of interest. We're working very methodically."

Doering said his reluctance to elaborate on the investigation was two-fold: "I don't have much information, and I want to protect the family."

He said the trailer where the bodies were found was familiar to police. Police had responded to it on more than one occasion prior to Saturday's killings.

He declined to specify why police had been previously called to the residence.

GLYNN COUNTY, GA -- We've learned more about the charges against the only man arrested so far in connection to Saturday's slayings.

The man heard on the dramatic 911 call, Guy Heinze, Jr., was arrested Sunday on charges including tampering with evidence, obstruction of an officer and illegal possession of prescription drugs and marijuana. Click here for a full transcript of the call.

We have learned the tampering charge is because police say Heinze removed a shotgun from the scene. According to the police report, Heinze put the gun in the trunk of his car.

He told police he believed the gun was stolen.

The report also indicates the obstruction charge is because Heinze didn't give factual information to detectives regarding his whereabouts the night before.

Heinze obstructed law enforcement by providing false statements to two Glynn County investigators.

The warrant says Heinze gave, "false and misleading information about his whereabouts and involvement in the circumstances leading up to him calling 911 to report the deaths of his family members."

Another arrest warrant claims Heinze tampered with evidence from the mobile home.

Chief Matt Doering has said that since his arrest, Heinze has been helpful, and that although it isn't ruled out, Heinze is not now considered a suspect.

Also just developing, the property manager has promised an additional $10,000 in the reward pot, meaning there is now a $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest

Since the killings occurred, all we've been told by police is the identity of Michael Toler, the 19-year-old who died in the hospital hours after the 911 call that alerted police to the tragedy In talking with neighbors, family and other sources, we can confirm the following are victims of the tragedy:

Guy William Heinze, Sr., Russell Dennis Toler, Chrissy Toler, and Michelle Toler, who is 15.

Byron, the last survivor, is a young child still in critical condition in the hospital.

More than 3,000 miles away, in the city of Port Angeles, Wash., 72-year-old William Heinze got tragic news.

"I just can't stop crying and shaking. I just hit me so heavy because we really loved Guy, everybody loved Guy," William Heinze told reporters. William Heinze is a man facing the ultimate struggle after Saturday's mass killings. His son, Guy Heinze, is among the dead.

And his grandson, Guy Heinze Jr., is the lone arrest in the case, accused of tampering with evidence and lying to detectives.

"Some of them were crippled or disabled. It just doesn't make any sense. I don't even know what would be the reason for something like this," Heinze said.

William Heinze is now preparing to fly cross-county to bury his son. The body, for now, is at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy lab in Savannah.

"He was pretty much locked in to staying with his best friend, Rusty. They went to school together as kids. He'd always go over there on Saturday nights. Like a big family, they'd be together," Williams Heinze said.

Georgia police chief keeps a tight lid on details surrounding mass slayings at mobile home

By Cliff Pinckard, The Plain Dealer
on September 01, 2009 at 3:30 AM, updated September 01, 2009 at 3:37 AM

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering knows the public is eager to know more about the mysterious slayings of eight people in this Georgia coastal city but is reticent to release details that might destroy his investigation.

Two days after seven bodies and two critically injured victims were found in a Brunswick mobile home, he refused to release most of their names, ages or how they were killed -- though some of that could come during a briefing today. No motive and no suspects, he says. And police are not sure if the killer was still in the area.

"I understand their frustration," Doering said Monday about the public's desire for knowledge. "But this is a very difficult investigation. . . . I have to be very careful."

On the flip side, the chief was willing to release the recording of the 9-1-1 call made by Guy Heinze Jr., who arrived early Saturday to find seven members of his family dead and two more clinging to life. One of the survivors, 19-year-old Michael Toler, later died at a hospital, bringing the total dead to eight. The ninth victim remained in critical condition.

The tape provided a chilling glimpse of the gory scene.

"My dad's dead, my uncle's dead. There's like six. My whole family's dead!" Heinze said, struggling to describe the scene to a dispatcher after his neighbor called 9-1-1 and handed him the phone. "It looks like they've been beaten to death. I don't know what to do, man."

Moments later, the 22-year-old who is facing charges of lying to police and other counts went back inside and discovered his cousin Michael still breathing.

"Michael's alive, tell them to hurry!" Heinze yelled in the background as a maintenance man at the mobile home park stayed on the phone with the dispatcher. "He's beat up! His face is smashed in!"

The 12-minute call provided some of the only details about the crime that Doering calls the worst murder case in his 25 years on the job. He said he expected to be able to release the identities at today's news conference once all the autopsies have been completed. The killings have the community on edge, and some have been critical of the lack of information.

Others are supportive.

Thomas Joiner, who has lived in the area since 1955 and lives about five miles from the mobile home park, said he didn't fault the chief for withholding information.

"I understand what the police are doing. You cannot give too many details," he said, adding that that could make it harder to solve the crime.

But he said the uncertainty over whether a violent killer was still on the loose is tough to take and he's not taking chances.

"I am being very vigilant," he said, adding that he has a pit bull as a guard dog, keeps his shotgun handy and, since Saturday, has started locking his doors at all times, something he never felt the need to do.

Doering also took a reporter, photographer and video cameraman to see and film the outside of the crime scene from the back seat of his police car Saturday after the mobile home park's management refused all day to let reporters onto the property.

But he can also be coy. At a news conference Sunday, Doering gave a brief update and took questions for 20 minutes before revealing the day's biggest news -- that Heinze had been arrested. Heinze is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday. Doering has not called him a suspect and Heinze's lawyer said his client is very upset and denies any involvement in the killings.

Though he'd already been asked if police had any suspects, Doering said teasingly at the news conference that he was surprised nobody asked specifically about arrests.

"I was waiting for one of y'all to say, 'Gee, Matt, I went down to the jail and checked the records and you all are doing pretty good,' " he said.

His guarding of details in a high-profile crime isn't new.

A weeklong search for a missing 6-year-old boy in March 2007 ended with Christopher Barrios being found dead. Police charged a convicted child molester and his parents with sexually assaulting and killing the boy.

As he's done since last weekend's mass slaying, Doering called frequent news conferences to accommodate reporters -- but also kept back details he believed could jeopardize the case. He revealed names of suspects, who police had questioned for days, only after charges were filed. Details of how the boy died didn't emerge until the suspects were indicted.

Amy Callaway sits on the county board of commissioners. She declined to say whether officials were briefed on details not made public but supported the chief.

"I think the police chief is being very guarded because he's trying to protect the families. I think that's his main concern right now," Callaway said. "As time goes on, more and more information will come out."

http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/09/georgia_police_chief_keeps_a_t.html

BRUNSWICK, GA -- Police have identified the eight victims in the mobile home murders in Brunswick.

They are:

Russell D. Toler Sr., age 44

Russell D. Toler Jr., 20

Chrissy Toler, 22

Michelle Toler, 15

Michael Toler, 19

Brenda Gail Falagan, 40

Guy Heinze Sr., 46

Joseph L. West, 31

A ninth victim, presumably a young boy, is hospitalized in Savannah with critical injuries.

The autopsies on the victims have been completed, but the results have not been made public.

Rusty Toler Sr. took in people who were down on their luck, packing his mobile home with relatives and others who had lost their jobs or fallen on hard times.It's what good country folk do, says the manager of the park where Toler, his four children, two siblings and his daughter's boyfriend were found slain. Ten people lived in the single-wide, 980-square-foot trailer in oastal Georgia that cost Toler $405 a month.Police have no suspects and have not said how the family died."They were very good people," said Laura Davis, an aunt to Toler's  children.  "They struggled but they had what they needed. They had a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs."Police released the names and ages of the dead Tuesday, three days after the carnage was reported in a frantic 911 call by a relative who said he had returned from a night out to find his whole family dead."It's just a shock," said Gail Montgomery, who manages the New Hope Plantation mobile home park where Toler and his family lived. "They were just what I'd call good country folks. I don't think any of them would hurt a fly."The victims included 44-year-old Toler and his four children: Chrissy Toler, 22; Russell D. Toler Jr., 20; Michael Toler, 19; and Michelle Toler, 15.Also killed were two of Toler's siblings — Guy Heinze Sr., 45, and Brenda Gail Falagan, 49, as well as 30-year-old Joseph L. West, Chrissy Toler's boyfriend. A ninth victim, whom police did not identify, remained in critical condition Tuesday.Montgomery said the elder Toler had taken in his brother, a nephew, his daughter and her boyfriend because they had lost jobs and couldn't find work. Montgomery said his daughter's young child also lived with them and was the lone survivor.Toler Sr. had worked for 20 years at a plant that dries chemicals and food products located behind the mobile home park, but was laid off several months ago, said Kathy Clock, administrative assistant to the owner of the plant and New Hope Plantation.Montgomery said Toler Sr. also did odd jobs for her, including groundskeeping and hauling trailers.But he had too many people living in the home. They were told more than two months ago they would have to move, which they planned to do."He had a big heart," Montgomery said. "And you just don't tell your family no."Toler Sr. received notice of eviction proceedings Aug. 13 and was to have been in court with the landlord Monday, two days after he was killed. Montgomery said they had come to an agreement — the family had found a new place and promised to move out by Sept. 8."Rusty took care of family," Clock said. "If you needed a place to sleep, there was a place to sle p."Davis, the children's aunt, said she had never known the family to have enemies, especially anyone who would want to kill them."I don't think somebody did this because they're mad at them," Davis said. "I think this is just a senseless murder."Police have released little information about the case that has rocked this port city between Savannah and Jacksonville, Fla., saying they don't want to jeopardize their investigation.It was Heinze's son, Guy Heinze Jr., 22, who told police he found the bodies after returning home Saturday morning.A recording of a 12-minute 911 call has provided some of the only details about the crime.Heinze Jr. could be heard on the call screaming, "My whole family's dead!" and struggled to describe what he saw, at one point returning to the mobile home to find his cousin Michael, whom he said had Down syndrome, barely breathing. "Michael's alive, tell them to hurry!" Heinze Jr. yelled in the background as a maintenance man at the mobile home park spoke with a dispatcher. "He's beat up! His face is smashed in!"Michael Toler died Sunday at a hospital in  Savannah.Several hours after Heinze Jr. said he found the bodies, police arrested him on charges of drug possession, tampering with evidence and lying to a police officer. Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said he isn't calling Heinze Jr. a suspect in the killings but isn't ruling him out. Heinze's attorney said he is distraught over the slayings and was not involved."My client believes the killer is still on the loose," said the lawyer, Ron Harrison, who said Heinze Jr. is cooperating with police.Heinze Jr. is scheduled for court on Wednesday.A graveside service was tentatively set for the Tolers, Heinze and Falagan on Saturday, according to the Howard-Jones-Nobles Funeral Home. Details of West's funeral were not immediately available."The only comfort I can draw from this is that Rusty did the best he could for his children," Davis said. "And he's in heaven now with his children."

Glynn County Police said all autopsies had been completed on the eight victims of a mass murder in a mobile home.

People in the small south Georgia town are still in shock after seven people were found dead and 2 critically injured just after 8:00 a.m. Saturday (Watch: Multiple Homicides Reported in Glynn County).

Police said one of the injured victims, Michael Toler, 19, died noon Sunday at a Savannah hospital.  The only survivor of the attack, a child, is still in critical condition at the hospital.

Police identified the other victims as Russell D. Toler Sr., 44; Russell D. Toler Jr., 20; Chrissy Toler, 22; Michelle Toler, 15; Brenda Gail Falagan, 49; Guy Heinze Sr., 45; Joseph L. West, 30.

Glynn County Coroner Jimmy Durden told News 3 he had been told the autopsies concluded Monday afternoon, but said he has not received information yet on the specific causes of deaths.  Durden said he believes he’ll receive that information within the week.

Police said they still have not identified any suspects, and authorities have not released how the victims were killed.  On Monday, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering acknowledged the community’s frustration.

“This is a very difficult investigation as I know you are all aware. And right now we’re doing everything we can possibly do in order to find those responsible and figure out what happened. And I have to be very careful not to release those details that can jeopardize that investigation,“ said Doering.  (Watch: Mystery Surrounds Murder of 8 in Glynn County)

Monday morning police released the 911 call made by Guy Heinze, Jr. (Watch: [url=http://www2.wsav.com/sav/news/local/article P-1-1_tapes_released_in_glynn_county_mass_murder_case/42626/]911 Tapes Released in Glynn County Mass Murders[/url]) Police said Heinze, Jr. was the family member who discovered the bodies Saturday morning. (Watch: Multiple Murders Reported in Glynn County at Mobile Home Park, Watch: 911 Tapes Released in Glynn County Mass Murder)  

Heinze, Jr. is set to appear before a judge Wednesday on drug charges of drug possession, tampering with evidence, and obstructing an officer (Watch: Police: 1 Arrested in Relation to Glynn County Multiple Murders). According to arrest warrants, he gave investigators “false and misleading information about his whereabouts and his involvement in the circumstances leading up to him calling 911 to report the deaths of his family members.“  Another warrant says he admitted “to hiding a shot gun” in the trunk of a car to hide if from investigators because he believed the shotgun was stolen.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Glynn County’s Silent Witness Line at 912-264-1333.  There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case, and callers can remain anonymous.

There is a benefit fund set up to help the family with funeral expenses.  You can make donations to the Toler Funeral Fund at any Southeastern Bank branch.  

The bodies of seven of the victims (the Toler family, Guy Heinze, Sr., and Brenda Falagan) have been taken to Howard~Jones~Nobles Funeral Home in Jesup.  The funeral home tells News 3 a funeral service for them will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday at Young’s Island Community Church in McIntosh County.

We’re told the arrangements for Joesph West are not complete but are being handled by R.L. Jones and Sons Funeral Home in Brunswick.

GLYNN COUNTY, GA -- Guy Heinze, Jr. is still behind bars in Glynn County charged with lying to police and tampering with evidence.

His attorney, Ron Harrison, says Heinze had nothing to do with the murders of his family.

"He is deeply saddened about this tragic event and is grieving as we speak and looks forward to getting out of jail and reuniting with what family he has left."

Heinze is charged with lying to police about his wherabouts before reporting the deaths of his family members.

He is also accused of taking a shotgun from the murder scene and hiding it from police. Heinze told police he thought the gun was stolen.

Harrison won't talk about the charges. "He has cooperated fully with police."

Police Chief Matt Doering says Heinze isn't cooperating anymore. Harrison says that is "inaccurate."

Harrison says Heinze wants those responsible to be brought to justice.

Heinze has a bond hearing Wednesday morning on the charges.

They were all family, or family friends, who died together in the biggest mass killing in Glynn County history. These are the stories of the eight people who were found slain in a mobile home park north of Brunswick, Ga., on Saturday. (A ninth victim, 3-year-old Byron Jimerson Jr., remains in critical condition in a Savannah hospital.)

RUSSELL TOLER SR.

Friends describe him as humble, hard-working
People who knew Russell "Rusty" Toler Sr., 44, said they were astonished he fell victim to such violence and confident he did nothing to bring it on himself or his family.
"I heard it, but thought it was just rumors," said Jimmy Ginn, a former neighbor of the Tolers.
In fact, said longtime friend and fishing companion Bobby Sumner, Toler always tried to find the good in people.
"Rusty tried to live by the old standard that if you don't have something good to say about someone, don't say anything at all," said Sumner, who runs an RV park in McIntosh County. "He loved his young'uns, and he would go to the ends of the Earth for them."
Sumner and others described Toler, who was living with four of his children, as a humble, friendly, hard-working man.
"Anything that came up to make a dollar, he'd jump at it," said Fred Rowe, a friend of the family for nearly two decades.
Joseph Iannicelli, owner of the New Hope Mobile Home Park and the adjoining Aero-Instant plant where Toler worked for more than 20 years, issued a statement describing him as "a very loyal employee."
The plant, which offers custom drying services to the mineral and chemical industries, is in temporary shutdown mode now, but Toler would definitely have been hired back when work picked up, Iannicelli said.
Called "Mr. Joe" by his employees, Iannicelli added a $10,000 reward Monday to the $25,000 offered by Glynn County police for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever is responsible for the killings.
Court records in McIntosh County show Toler was charged with simple battery against his former wife's husband on New Year's Eve 2004. The charges were dropped a few months later.
Witnesses subpoenaed to testify in the case included Toler's half-brother, Guy Heinze Sr., and Toler's daughter, Chrissy. Both also were victims of the weekend slayings.
But Sumner said Toler and his former wife and her husband generally got along as friends and had lived as neighbors before he moved to New Hope.

CHRISSY TOLER

She had several run-ins with law enforcement.
Chrissy Toler, 22, died after living a troubled life, littered with several run-ins with the law after she left the Glynn County school system in 2003 at age 16.
County schools Superintendent Howard Mann was interim principal of Needwood Middle School when Toler was a student there. Mann recalls her as a kid who was rough around the edges. She might not have instigated disturbances, he said, but she often was in the middle of them.
Toler got into more serious scrapes as she got older. She was sentenced to 10 years' probation and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty in June 2006 to conspiracy to commit armed robbery in an attack on a couple at a Brunswick motel.
Toler is the mother of the sole survivor of the weekend massacre. Her 3-year-old son is named after his father, Byron Jimerson, who is serving 20 years for the armed robbery, authorities said.
Toler took a plea bargain that required her to testify against Jimerson and Shem Paul, who received a 30-year sentence, records showed.
In 2005, Toler, Jimerson and two others were accused of robbing two men who said Toler and a second woman propositioned and promised to have sex with them, court records showed. Prosecutors later dismissed the charges when the victims could not be found to testify in the case, the records showed.
Toler was charged with misdemeanor simple battery after her mother told Glynn police she was attacked by her daughter in May 2006 during a domestic dispute. Court records list the case as inactive, and additional information about its disposition wasn't immediately available.

RUSSELL TOLER JR.
He worked hard and was slow to criticize.
Like father, like son.
Folks who knew him said Russell Toler Jr., 20, shared his father's humble demeanor, work ethic and love for fishing.
"He didn't care how dirty he got. That boy worked hard," said Fred Rowe, who often worked side by side with the man he called "Little Rusty" in roofing and construction jobs.
Bobby Sumner said he often fished with the father and son, and sometimes just with the son. He said he was a thin-framed young man, slow to criticize, who often kept to himself. Toler Jr. wasn't prone to fighting with his siblings or causing trouble outside the home, Sumner said.
"They were good people," he said. "It's such a tragedy this happened."
Mark Hill of Brunswick was stepfather to the Toler children and married to their mother for a time. He described them all as well-behaved and well-mannered. Hill said he hasn't had contact with the children in eight or nine years.
MICHAEL TOLER
A teacher remembers Michael as "wonderful."
David Flesch is serious when he tells you Michael Toler, 19, was "the most wonderful child and human being" he's met in 20 years as a special education teacher.
That's why his face lights up when asked about the boy he taught - and who he says taught him even more - at McIntosh County Academy near Darien, Ga., from 2003 to 2007.
But it's also what brings him to tears when reminded that Toler died Sunday from wounds suffered in the Brunswick trailer park home massacre that left a total of eight dead and one critically injured.
What seems so senseless to Flesch isn't only that Toler was a Down syndrome child, but that someone could possibly harm "the nicest human being ever."
"I was hoping they had the wrong child" when news first broke it was his former student who was among the victims, Flesch said.
What always impressed Flesch so much, he said, was that the teen overcame a speech impediment almost by sheer will and despite poverty at home displayed a huge work ethic - he had been training for a job with Goodwill Industries, although Flesch didn't believe he was working at the time.
Toler's family moved around a lot and worked several minimum-wage jobs - conditions that would make it hard for any student to do well at school.
After hearing of Toler's death, Flesch said he went through a cycle of anger and questioning about how this could happen. But that has already passed.
"I have no doubt Michael's sitting in God's lap right now," Flesch said. "I'm OK with that, now."

MICHELLE TOLER
"She had a big heart," said a family friend.
There was no official announcement Tuesday at Needwood Middle School. Classmates and teachers of Michelle Toler, 15, already knew the worst had happened to the eighth-grader.
Friends and classmates chose to remember her life - not how she died.
Bobby Sumner, a fishing companion of the Tolers, said Michelle loved to fish and spend time with her dad, who also died in the attacks.
"She had a big heart," Sumner said.
Reporters were barred from the middle school because Glynn County schools Superintendent Howard Mann said students and staff deserved privacy to grieve.
"It's such a horrific tragedy. It's going to take some time, not just for our school family but for the whole community to heal," Mann said.
Students continued to trickle in to talk with grief counselors, who have been at the school since Monday.
Michelle was popular with her classmates and teachers.
"Her classmates described her as a person who was always smiling, and said if they were down about anything, she would try to pick them up and raise their spirits," said Jim Weidhaas, a school system spokesman.
No memorial services have been planned at the school because "we're concentrating on maintaining a normal school atmosphere focused on learning," Weidhaas said.
But Michelle will not be forgotten.
"She is going to be missed," he said.

GUY HEINZE SR.
He was remembered as a generous friend.
At first, Jimmy Ginn was calm as he discussed the murder of his friend and one-time fellow truck driver Guy William Heinze Sr., 45, who died with seven others in a trailer park massacre Saturday in Brunswick.
But traces of anger emerged as slowly as the exhalations of the Marlboro Light cigarette he smoked Tuesday in a driveway on Church of God Road in Townsend, Ga.
"I hope they catch those guys," he said of the person or persons who committed the weekend homicides. "When they do, they can bring them out here and drop them off."
Townsend is a rural community a few miles west of Interstate 95 in McIntosh County where Ginn and Heinze used to drive a long-haul truck together, Ginn said. Two other victims, Rusty Toler Sr. and Jr., also once lived there.
"Everybody out here knows them," Ginn said.
What was known about Heinze, Ginn said, was that he kept his nose clean and worked hard.
"He got up early and went to bed early," Ginn said.
Not that Heinze didn't have his run-ins with authorities. In 1985, he received probation for forgery in St. Johns County. Records show he also got probation for forgery in Georgia. Speeding, illegal parking and improper child restraint charges were filed against him in Georgia between 1994 and 2004.
Ginn didn't recall any of that, but did remember Heinze's CB handle was "Shaky," because he had the jitters following an incident a few years back when a semi-truck tire he was working on exploded and injured him.
"It messed him up," Ginn said.
Bobby Sumner of McIntosh County said he and Heinze drove trucks together, and Heinze used to watch NASCAR with him. He described Heinze as a generous man who once brought him back a $70 model car from a NASCAR race.
"He had a really rough life," Sumner said.

BRENDA FALAGAN
She was in a wheelchair following a stroke.
Brenda Gail Falagan, 49, was Rusty Toler Sr.'s older sister and the wife of the late Glenn Falagan.
She and her husband lost their son, Andy, 7, and Glenn's son, Johnny, in a fire about 20 years ago, said Jeannie Asbell, her niece.
She and Glenn's sister, Joyce Stone, said both Glenn and Brenda had suffered debilitating strokes. After Glenn suffered a stroke, Brenda took care of him until she suffered one that left her unable to care for him, Stone said.
"She stuck by my brother until the day he died,'' Stone said. "She was just a good person.''
Brenda lived with another sister, Joann, for five years but when Joann died, Brenda had to leave, Stone said.
"She was in a wheelchair at times,'' as her late husband had been, Stone said.
Asbell believes Brenda Falagan was so dependent on someone taking care of her that she had little choice but to move in with her brother.
"She was my aunt. I loved her to death. She was a very nice lady,'' Asbell said.
Stone's voice was tinged with sorrow when she wondered why so many innocent people were killed.
"Why did they kill the children? Why did they kill Brenda?'' she said. "She didn't bother anybody."

JOSEPH WEST
Despite some problems, "He had a good heart."
Joseph L. West, 30, was Chrissy Toler's boyfriend, devoted to his family and always in a hurry, said his aunt, Joyce Herrington.
Herrington said she talked with him the day before he died and that he never let a week go by without talking with her.
He enjoyed spending time with Chrissy Toler and her young son, Byron.
"When you saw Joseph, Chrissy was in that truck and that little boy was in that truck,'' Herrington said.
She told about a running joke between them.
"He'd say, 'Auntie, you got any money?' and I'd say, 'If I do it's mine,'" she said.
He had some legal problems.
After pleading guilty to possession of cocaine, he was sentenced in September 2000 to five years' probation, $1,750 in fines and court costs and a year intensive probation. His probation was revoked after he tested positive for cocaine in October 2002 and failed to fulfill other conditions of his probation. There was no court record of any jail time.
Other scrapes with the law included forging and cashing a check for $345, theft by receiving stolen property for accepting $2,000 worth of stainless steel and illegal dumping and fighting. Sentences ranged from five days in jail to probation.
"None of us are perfect,'' his aunt said. "He had a good heart."

Toddler's update: Byron Jimerson Jr., 3, is in critical condition and under police protection at a Savannah hospital. His mother, Chrissy Toler, was killed in the attacks.

22 year old Guy Heinze, Jr., whose frantic voice on a 9-1-1 tape says “they’re all dead, my dad, my uncle, my cousins,“ appeared in court this morning in Brunswick.  Heinze, Jr., told authorities he had returned home to the New Hope Mobile Home Park early Saturday (located near Darien) to find his entire family had been murdered.  Eight of the nine victims have died in what’s being called a “mass murder” in Glynn County. The ninth victim, a small child, still clings to life at Memorial Health in Savannah.

Heinze, Jr. was taken into custody Saturday morning on charges that include drug possession, obstruction and tampering with evidence.  He appeared in court this morning and has been given a $20,000 bond, with special conditions that include house arrest other than for work. He’s also been ordered to wear an ankle monitor.  

The amount of bond was agreed upon buy defense attorneys, prosecutors and police detectives investigating case. There’s no word yet on whether Heinze, Jr., will actually be able to make bond or whether anyone he knows will be putting up the bail for him.

Glynn County police have not said that Heinze, Jr., is a suspect in the killings.  They continue to seek help from the public and remind the public there is a $25,000 reward for information.

BRUNSWICK —  Glynn County Chief Magistrate Tim Barton set a $20,000 bail today for Guy Heinze Jr., who was arrested after making a frantic 911 call Saturday morning to report the deaths of his father and six others.

Barton also ordered Heinze to remain on home confinement except for work, and he must wear an electronic ankle bracelet so authorities can keep tabs on his whereabouts.

Because his home where seven were killed and two severely wounded remains a crime scene, Heinze will stay with his grandmother, Ron Harrison, his attorney, told reporters.

Harrison said arrangements were underway this afternoon to post Heinze's bail, and have him fitted with the monitoring bracelet. Heinze may be released later today, he said.

"He is looking forward to being reunited with his family," Harrison said.

Heinze plans to attend the joint funeral of his slain relatives on Saturday.

All but West will be buried Saturday in graveside services at Young's Island Church of God cemetery north of Darien.

All Heinze said throughout the proceedings was a barely audible, "Yes sir,'' to Barton's questions about whether he understood the proceedings.

Ashley Strickland, who said she had known Heinze since school, described him as "very, very sweet.''

"He doesn't deserve this. His whole family didn't deserve what happened to them,'' she said.

Strickland also said she believes Heinze would tell the police if he knew who killed his family members.

"I've never known him to be anything but a good guy,'' she said.

As of this morning, Glynn County police had made no arrests or announced any new developments in the investigation.

GLYNN COUNTY, GA -- Guy Heinze, Jr. hoped he would be out of the Glynn County Detention Center and staying at his Grandmother's home by now, but a new problem has caused a new delay.

Heinze's attorney, Ron Harrison, says an ankle monitor is not available for the 22-year-old.

On Wednesday, a Judge ordered Heinze to wear an ankle monitor and stay on house arrest if he posts bond. Harrison says his client in "frustrated and anxious" over the issue.

Meanwhile, the City of Brunswick is stepping up to help find those responsible for killing Heinze's relatives at New Hope Plantation.

"We are one community and when push comes to shove, we will step up and stand shoulder to shoulder. This is not an incident that just affects New Hope. This is something that had a strong impact on the entire community," says Brunswick Mayor, Bryan Thompson.

The City is donating $15,000 in cash to catch the killer or killers. That brings the total reward to $50,000.

"We wait on word from Matt (Chief Doering). Matt's being tight lipped, which he should be," says Thompson.

Everyone, including City officials, is waiting on Chief Matt Doering to release new details on the murders and the investigation.

Numerous phone calls have been made to the Glynn County Police Department in search of an update. Police are still refusing to make any more comments.

"I know we have residents who are frightened. I'm sure if the Chief felt more of a need for information, that would be coming out," says Thompson.

Heinze could be stuck in jail for another couple of days. His attorney says if he is not out by Saturday, for his family's funerals, he will ask the Court to allow him to be at the memorials.

On September 4th 2009, at 6:45 PM, investigators with the Glynn County Police Department sought and received arrest warrants for Guy Heinze Jr., age 22 in connection with the murders and criminal attempt to commit murder that occurred at lot 147, New Hope Mobile Home Park in Glynn County, in the early morning hours of August 29th.

   The arrest comes after seven days of diligent investigation by Glynn County officers, with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies and volunteers. This arrest is the result of a compilation of physical as well as testimonial evidence.

   The Glynn County Police Department will continue to gather additional evidence in the case and still encourages anyone with information regarding the case to contact silent witness at 912-264-1333 or Detective Bill Daras at 912-554-7825.

   This is still an ongoing investigation. Further details will be released at the discretion of the Chief of Police and the District Attorney. A press conference will be held tonight, Friday, at 9:00 P.M. at the Glynn County Police Department.

Police issued an arrest warrant on eight murder counts for Guy Heinze Jr. Friday, in connection with the murders and criminal attempt to commit murder in a Mobile Home Park in Glynn County, Georgia.



   "The arrest comes after seven days of diligent investigation by Glynn County officers, with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies and volunteers," said a press release issued by the Glynn County Police Department on Friday.

   In a frantic 911 call early last Saturday, 22-year-old Heinze had told a dispatcher "My whole family's dead!"

Hours after the bodies were found, the 22-year-old was charged with evidence tampering and drug possession. But police didn't say until Friday that they suspected him of the killings.

   He had been briefly released on bond related to the lesser charges and arrested again later Friday.

Heinze's father, Guy Heinz Sr., was among the eight dead.    The eight people killed in the brutal mobile home attack in the southeastern coastal city also included four older children and other members of an extended family. Also killed in the attack were Brenda Gail Falagan, 49, and Joseph L. West, 30. Their connections to the family were not immediately known.

   Mark Hill was once married to Toler Sr.'s ex-wife and stepfather to their four children — Chrissy, Russell Jr., Michael and Michelle.

   "They were good kids, well mannered, well behaved," Hill said in an interview before the names were released. "Every one of them were good kids."

   Hill said he and the mother of the children divorced about eight years ago and he had not seen them in several years.

   An acquaintance of Toler Sr., Sam Davis, said Toler and his children used to stop in at the convenience store where Davis worked when the family lived in nearby Townsend.

   "He was just a nice guy. Quiet, humble. He'd do anything for anybody in the world," Davis said, adding Toler Sr. was always buying snacks and drinks for his children. "He looked like he loved his kids. I'd see him stop by with them going on fishing trips."The 12-minute emergency call by Heinze Jr. has provided some of the only details about the crime that Doering, the police chief, has called the worst murder case in his 25 years on the job.

   On the call, Heinze Jr. screamed, "My whole family's dead!" The 22-year-old seemed to struggle as he described what he saw, and at one point returned to the mobile home to find his cousin Michael, whom he says has Down syndrome, barely breathing.

   "Michael's alive, tell them to hurry!" Heinze Jr. is heard yelling in the background as a maintenance man at the mobile home park spoke with the dispatcher. "He's beat up! His face is smashed in!"

   The killings have the community on edge, and some have been critical of the lack of information being released by police. Others have been supportive.

   Thomas Joiner, who has lived in the area since 1955, said he didn't fault the chief for withholding information. But he said the uncertainty over whether a violent killer was on the loose is tough to take and he's not taking chances.

   "I am being very vigilant," he said, adding that he has a pit bull as a guard dog, keeps his shotgun handy and, since Saturday, has started locking his doors at all times, something he never felt the need to do.

A man, whose family members were found brutally murdered in a Georgia mobile home on Aug. 29, has been arrested for the killings.

Guy Heinze Jr. faces eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Russell D. Toler Sr., 44; Russell D. Toler Jr., 20; Chrissy Toler, 22; Michelle Toler, 15; Brenda Gail Falagan, 49; Guy Heinze Sr., 45; Joseph L. West, 30; and Michael Toler, 19. A three-year-old child survived the attack and remains in a Savannah hospital in critical condition. Heinze is also charged with attempting to murder the child.

Heinze was the man who found the bodies and called 911, claiming he had been out all night and encountered the brutal scene upon returning home.

In a news conference on Friday evening, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said, "I can assure you that this person is responsible."

To see photos regarding the case, click here.

The eight people killed Aug. 29 in a mobile home all died of beating, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said.

Guy Heinze, 22, the lone suspect and son of one of the victims, acted alone in beating the eight dead and the lone survivor, Byron Jimerson, 3, who remains in critical condition today, Doering said.

Doering declined  to divulge what sort of weapon or object was used to administer what is officially known as blunt force trauma or whether it has been recovered.

"Evidence indicates more than one weapon was used to inflict the injuries,'' said Capt. Marissa Tindale, head of detectives for the department.

Both said the home at New Hope Mobile Park remains an active crime scene and that detectives are still working there as they interview potential witnesses and track down tips.
"There's still a lot of work to be done,'' Doering said.

Charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated battery, Heinze is being held without bail in the Glynn County Detention Center. Chief Magistrate Tim Barton said he went to the jail on Labor Day and informed Heinze of the charges against him and of his rights.

The victims, Guy Heinze Sr., 45; Russell "Rusty" Toler Sr., 44; Toler's children, Russell D. Toler Jr. 20, Chrissy Toler, 22, Michael Toler, 19, and Michelle Toler, 15; the elder Toler's sister, BrendaGail Flanagan; Chrissy's Toler's son, Byron Jimerson; and her boyfriend, Joseph L. West, 30, were all found on the floor and in beds throughout the mobile home. Police found the victims after Guy Heinze Jr. made a frantic 911 call saying his whole family had been beaten to death.

Guy Heinze Jr. referred to Rusty Toler as his uncle and Toler's children as his cousins, but Guy Heinze Jr.'s grandfather, William Heinze said Saturday there was no such relationship. Guy Heinze Sr. had been long-time friends with Rusty Toler and they lived together at times, but were not related by blood, William Heinze said.

Police say Guy Heinze Jr. struck nine people with a blunt instrument, killing eight of them and leaving the ninth in the hospital.

That information comes from the arrest warrants police used to put Heinze back behind bars just hours after his release Friday.

The warrants don't specify the type of weapon used, just that the people in the mobile home were beaten to death and that more than one weapon was used.

Police Chief Matt Doering also says none of the victims suffered any gunshots, but would not go into further detail about the manner of death.

Doering does say, however, that all the evidence he's seen indicates Heinze was the only person responsible for the beatings, though he adds the investigation is still very much ongoing.

While police aren't saying much about the warrants, Heinze's attorney says Heinze is innocent.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - The man charged with beating his father and seven others to death issued a plea to the public Wednesday for information to help police identify the real killer or killers.
Guy Heinze Jr. reaffirmed that he was not involved in the massacre he reported Aug. 29 at the Brunswick home he shared with the victims, his attorney Ron Harrison said.
"He continues to vehemently deny that he has any involvement in this," Harrison said. "He's asking that anyone with any information about whoever did this to contact the police immediately and tell them."
Harrison said the 22-year-old construction worker was devastated by the killings and further anguished by the charges accusing him of the slayings.
"He's frustrated, confused, upset and anxious. Like the rest of us, he has a lot of questions and not many answers," said Harrison, emphasizing that Heinze has told police everything he knows about what happened.
"His family is being allowed to visit him in jail, but not as often as he or they would like," said Harrison, noting they are comforting each other as best they can.
Harrison said he "wasn't at liberty to discuss" Heinze's whereabouts or activities at the time of the killings, or the circumstances leading to his discovery of the bodies.
He declined comment on whether Heinze has provided DNA, blood or other physical evidence to investigators.
Harrison dismissed public speculation that a $25,000 McIntosh Magistrate Court judgment awarded to Guy Heinze Sr. could be a motive for the younger Heinze to commit the slayings. The attorney said his client "didn't know the outcome of the lawsuit." The defendant in the case, the owner of a Darien mobile home park, has appealed the judgment to Superior Court.
Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering has said all the evidence shows Heinze acted alone in bludgeoning his father and the others to death. Arrest warrants say he used a blunt instrument and intended to kill his victims.
The only survivor, Byron Jimerson Jr., 3, also was severely beaten and remained in critical condition Wednesday at a Savannah hospital.
Although autopsies have been completed, detectives are awaiting the results of toxicology tests. It's possible, authorities said, that some of the victims might have been incapacitated by alcohol or drugs, or simply asleep when attacked.
Detectives completed their work Wednesday at the crime scene - a 980-square-foot home in New Hope Mobile Home Park. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-wide trailer has been released to the park owner, said Capt. Marissa Tindale, head of the detectives division of the police department.
Tindale said investigators continue interviewing possible witnesses, following up on tips, and searching for additional evidence in the case.
Police on all-terrain vehicles were seen Saturday searching along U.S. 17 North and the F.J. Torras Causeway between the mainland and St. Simons Island. Tindale declined to divulge what they were looking for or whether they found it.
Heinze is jailed without bail on eight counts of murder and single counts each of attempted murder, tampering with evidence, obstructing police, possession of the controlled substance Darvocet and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
District Attorney Stephen Kelley has said the case qualifies for the death penalty, but no decision will be made unless Heinze is indicted. A new Glynn County grand jury will be seated Monday.
If prosecutors seek the death penalty, it is likely that attorneys with the Georgia Capital Defenders Office, a state-funded agency, will take over Heinze's defense, Harrison said.
Harrison, however, said he remains Heinze's attorney. It is possible, he said, that a bail or preliminary hearing could be held next week.

A Glynn County grand jury indicted Guy Heinze Jr. today on eight
counts of murder in the Aug. 29 beating deaths of his father and seven
others in a mobile home north of Brunswick.

Heinze, 22, is also charged with aggravated assault with intent to murder in the severe
beating of Byron Jimerson Jr., 3, who lived at New Hope Mobile Home
Park with his mother, Chrissy Toler, 22, and Joseph L. West, 30, both
of whom were slain.Almost immediately after Superior Court Judge
Stephen Scarlett received the indictment in court, District Attorney
Stephen Kelley filed notice he would seek the death penaltyThe indictment says all eight victims were beaten in the head but does not say what sort of weapon was used.Police
also have not said what was used to beat the victims, whether it was
more than one object or whether any weapon was recovered.The grand jury, in its first day on the job, heard about three hours of evidence, Kelley said.There was only one witness, Glynn County Police investigator William V. Daras, Kelley said.It
was Guy Heinze Jr. who initiated a frantic and tearful-sounding 911
call to tell police he had found his whole family beaten to death.Arriving
at the single wide mobile home shortly after 8 a.m., police found Guy
Heinze Jr.'s father, Guy Heinze Sr., 45, dead, along with Russell D.
Toler Sr., 44, his children Russell D. Doler Jr. 20, Chrissy Toler, and
Michelle Toler, 15, Toler's older sister, Brenda Gail Falagan, 49, and
West.During Heinze call, he said that Michael Toler, 19, was
still alive. Michael Toler, who was Russell Toler's third oldest child,
died two days later a Savannah hospital where Byron Jimerson remains.The
grand jury also indicted Heinze on single counts of possessing a
narcotic and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, both on
Aug. 29. Kelley said it will take months for the police and crime labs to finish their reports in the investigation.

In its first day on the job, the grand jury heard about three hours of evidence, all of it about the eight slayings and all of it from one witness, Glynn County police detective William “Bill” Daras, the lead investigator, Kelley said.

Only a jury can impose a death sentence in Georgia, and only by unanimous verdict. The only alternatives are life with or without eligibility for parole.

Kelley did not consult with the victims’ families, who are still reeling from the massacre, about seeking the death penalty. He said he relied on the evidence and Georgia law to make the decision. There is no doubt, Kelley said, the slayings meet the legal criteria for the death penalty and that he wants to talk with the families later about his decision.

“It was obvious from Day 1. When I first heard there were eight people killed, I knew this was a potential capital case,” said Kelley.

“I’m not bound by their opinion. You’ve got to have the evidence, and you’ve got to have the aggravating factors that qualify it for the death penalty.

“A murder is committed during the commission of another capital felony qualifies, and we have multiple murders here,” he said.

It is the opinion of at least one close family member — Alva Cross, Rusty Toler’s sister — that Heinze is innocent.

“I don’t think he did it. I feel 100 percent he didn’t do it,’’ she said Monday during a telephone interview from the Phoenix area, where she lives.

Not only does she believe that one person could not have killed all the victims without help, she also questions how Guy Heinze Jr. had no marks or other signs of violence.

“How could he leave there, go wash up and come back and not be exhausted?’’ she asked. “Not only that, that was the only family he had. I believe he’s innocent.’’

She vowed to begin work today to raise money to provide him the best lawyer possible because she does not believe he’ll get adequate representation from an appointed public defender.

Heinze did not ask nor was he invited to speak to the grand jury, which also indicted him on single counts of felony possession of Darvocet and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Kelley said.

It was Heinze who initiated the 911 call to tell police he had found his whole family beaten to death.

Lawyers for the man charged in the
Glynn County massacre that left eight people dead are going to court,
hoping to prevent pre-trial publicity from hurting their client's case.Attorneys
for Guy Heinze Jr. have filed a motion asking the judge to close all
pretrial proceedings to the public as well as the media.The
slayings in the Brunswick mobile home park have many people talking.
They have gained national attention, particularly when Heinze was
arrested and charged with murder.His 911 call on the morning the
bodies were found was played nationwide. But that could be the last the
public will hear from the case for some time.The motion Heinze's
attorneys have filed with the courts would close all hearings and the
trial, and shut down any publicity in the case.
The attorneys want the judge to issue a gag order, keep the public and
the news media out of court and seal all documents related to the case.The motion says, "There has been massive high prejudicial publicity on both a local and national scale regarding this case.”The lawyers said all the publicity is prejudicial and threatens a fair trial for Heinze.

Guy Heinze Jr. in court for Glynn mass murder case

Heinze Jr. was held after bodies were found in August near Brunswick.

May 26, 2010


BOBBY HAVEN/The Brunswick News
Guy Heinze Jr. (right) talks with Joseph Vigneri, lead defense attorney,
during Heinze’s appearance Tuesday before Chief Superior Court Judge
Amanda Williams in the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick.

BRUNSWICK — Diane Isenhour wept silently and clutched a tissue Tuesday as the man charged with murdering her four children, former husband and a former sister-in-law last year sat just a few feet away between his lawyers.

Guy Heinze Jr., 22, did not look at Isenhour but did glance at his younger brother, Tyler, who sat in the back of the courtroom during an hourlong hearing before Chief Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams.

It was Heinze’s first Superior Court appearance since his indictment on malice murder and other charges in the beating deaths of seven family members and a friend Aug. 29 inside their home at New Hope Plantation Mobile Home Park near Brunswick.

The former construction worker is charged with killing his father, Guy Heinze Sr., 45; his uncle, Russell “Rusty” D. Toler Sr., 44; his cousins Chrissy Toler, 22, Michael Toler, 19, Russell Toler Jr., 20, and Michelle Toler, 15; Russell D. Toler’s sister Brenda Gail Falagan, 49; and Joseph L. West Jr., 30, who was Chrissy Toler’s boyfriend.

Heinze also is charged with aggravated assault with intent to commit murder in the severe beating of 3-year-old Byron Jimerson Jr.,the sole survivor of the attack.

Byron, who is Chrissy Toler’s son, is doing well but remains in foster care, family members said Tuesday.

Isenhour is Byron’s maternal grandmother. She was the mother of Chrissy, Michael, Russell Jr. and Michelle Toler. Isenhour also was the former wife of Rusty Toler, and was Falagan’s former sister-in-law.

“It’s a rough road. … I’m having faith in the Lord,” Isenhour told the Times-Union as she left the courthouse with relatives and friends.

A few minutes earlier, Tyler Heinze left with his stepfather. The teenager remains steadfast in his belief that his brother is innocent. “I haven’t heard anything to convince me that one person could kill eight people like that and come out without a scratch,” Tyler Heinze said.

His brother is “scared to death, and he knows that he didn’t do it,” Tyler Heinze said.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Guy Heinze Jr., whomade a frantic 911 call saying he had returned home to find his whole family beaten to death.

Glynn County police arrived to find Michael Toler and the baby barely alive, and the bodies of the dead lying throughout the single-wide, three-bedroom home. Michael Toler died the next day. Police arrested Heinze on murder charges six days after the slayings. He initially had been arrested on charges of tampering with evidence, obstructing police and drug possession on the day after the killings.

Heinze spoke only once during Tuesday’s hearing. In a clear, strong voice, Heinze replied, “No, your honor,” when Williams asked if he had any objections to his lawyers, Joseph Vigneri and Charles Nester, of the Georgia Capital Defenders Office.

His hair and beard grown out but neatly trimmed, Heinze listened attentively as Williams explained the legal procedures.

He occasionally looked up at her, but mostly focused on a copy of the procedures as she explained them.

Williams denied a blanket motion from Vigneri and Nester, who sought to close all pretrial hearings, seal all court filings and impose a gag order on the police, lawyers, court personnel and potential witnesses.

Vigneri asserted such secrecy was needed to prevent negative and prejudicial pretrial publicity and ensure Heinze receives a fair trial.

Williams reserved the right to close some hearings, but emphasized her court is, and will be, open to the public.

“I do not believe in private trials. … This is not a star chamber. The right of the public and press to have access to the courtroom is of the highest value,” Williams said.

She declined to impose a gag order, but instructed the lawyers not to discuss the facts of the case in the news media or community.

Williams asked Assistant District Attorneys Todd Naugle and Greg Perry to urge police officials not to discuss the case in the news media or community.

Williams told the lawyers they could request a change of venue if they believe Heinze cannot receive a fair trial in Glynn County.

She said she won’t arraign Heinze for at least three months. That interval will allow the prosecution and defense to examine the potential evidence and file pretrial motions.

Vigneri said he and Nester likely would need more time because they have only one investigator.

“Then I suggest you tell the Capital Defender’s Office to get you another one,” said Williams, noting she will issue a court order mandating another investigator.

Although it might be years before Heinze stands trial, Williams told the lawyers to proceed with all due diligence to prepare the case. “It needs to be tried when it’s ready, but also, it doesn’t need to be withering on the vine,” Williams said.

Brunswick judge orders lawyer to continue leading Heinze defense team
Judge ordered he continue after he asked to be released for a position in Atlanta.
Posted: February 15, 2011


BRUNSWICK - Guy Heinze Jr. won a court victory Monday when a judge refused to allow his lead lawyer to withdraw from his defense team.

Chief Superior Court Judge Amanda F. Williams ordered Joseph W. Vigneri to continue representing Heinze, who faces the death penalty if convicted of murdering his father and seven others on Aug. 29, 2009, in the home they shared at New Hope Plantation Mobile Home Park north of Brunswick.

It would be too disruptive to Heinze's defense, Williams said, to replace Vigneri, of the Georgia Capital Defender's Office, even though another experienced trial lawyer from that office would have taken his place.

"We're going to try this case this year, and I think you are going to stay here for it," Williams said.

Vigneri had been working in the Brunswick regional office when he was assigned Heinze's case last year. He asked to be released from the case in December because, at his request, he was reassigned to the capital defender's central office in Atlanta.

In addition to Vigneri, the defense team has Charles M.J. Nester, the supervising attorney for the Brunswick office, and Newell M. Hamilton, a senior staff trial lawyer.

His hair and beard grown out but neatly trimmed, Heinze replied, "Yes, your honor, I'm satisfied," when Williams asked if he was satisfied with his defense team.

District Attorney Jackie Johnson updated the court on the status of potential evidence in the case.

"There are 1,000 or so items identified as potential evidence and [the defense] should have a list of it all," Johnson said.

Some is at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory awaiting analysis. Because the samples will be consumed in the analysis, the testing cannot be done until a defense DNA expert is present to witness it, Johnson said.

Vigneri told Williams because of "some funding concerns" they had not hired a DNA expert as yet but expected to as soon as possible.

Williams instructed the defense team to go to the Glynn County Police Department "in the next 30 days" to examine potential evidence there and decide what it wants analyzed.

"We need to keep this case moving," Williams said.

The sooner the case is tried, the better, Diane Isenhour said Monday after court where she watched the man who is charged with murdering her four children, former husband and a former sister-in-law.

"He needs to pay for what he's done ... He doesn't need to be sitting in that jail ... getting three meals a day," Isenhour told the Times-Union after the hearing.

The nightmare of the slayings haunt her day and night.

"It's still shocking to me. It's like I'm still in a dream and I can't wake up," Isenhour said.

The only bright spot, she said, is her grandson, Byron Jimerson Jr., who was the sole survivor of the massacre that killed his mother, Chrissy Toler, who was Isenhour's daughter; and seven other family or friends.

Although critically injured, Byron, now 5, has recovered from his injuries, Isenhour said.

"He's doing really good, really good. It's like a miracle. He's a miracle. It helps that he's doing so well," Isenhour said.

Heinze has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault with intent to commit murder in the attack. He is being held without bail.



Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-02-15/story/brunswick-judge-orders-lawyer-continue-leading-heinze-defense-team#ixzz1RjDzORgg