Savannah man indicted on murder charges for fatal 2019 assault

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A grand jury has indicted 24-year-old Charles Alexander Jacobson Teeple IV on multiple charges, including aggravated assault, two counts of felony murder, and exploitation and intimidation of an elderly person.

The indictment stems from an incident on New Year’s Eve in 2019 at Basil’s on Wilmington Island.

Officers say they responded to a report of an assault after 66-year-old Bruce Helmly told police he had been punched at the restaurant. Witnesses said the attack was unexpected and unprovoked.

Helmly refused medical treatment that night and went home.

The next morning he lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital.

He later died there on Jan. 8, 2020.

Police arrested Teeple, who was 19 at the time, in connection with the punch that targeted Helmly.