Statesboro Police explain how missing man was found dead in abandoned house

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - A man is set to be brought back to Statesboro from Ohio on a murder charge after a man went missing under mysterious circumstances.

WTOC was in Statesboro with a closer look at some of the unanswered questions in this case.

A missing persons investigation all led to an abandoned house off of South Main Street. That’s where officers say they found a body.

Saturday, a woman filed a missing person’s report for her 48-year-old son.

Statesboro Police were able to immediately track the man’s car.

Car found miles away in Ohio

However, Captain Jared Akins at the Statesboro Police Department says the car was found hundreds of miles away in Ohio by local authorities.

“We reach out to them, and they tell us, ‘Hey we are actually in a pursuit with that vehicle.’ We got the alert from FLOCK. We know its related to a missing person and whoever is driving it is fleeing,” said Capt. Akins.

Driving the car was Randall Lamar Williams, a 49-year-old from Statesboro.

Williams was arrested and questioned.

Body discovered in abandoned house

“The connection between he and the victim is not tremendously strong but there is obviously they know one another and they have some of the same connections and frequent some of the same places in Statesboro,” said Capt. Akins.

Officers say from talking to Williams, they were able to locate the missing man.

He was found dead in an abandoned house off of South Main Street.

Officers tell us it was clearly a homicide due to the victim’s wounds.

Captain Akins with the Statesboro Police Department says they rarely ever come across a case like this.

“So, generally the person has gone off and done something in their own life. From a criminal standpoint it is fairly rare that you have a missing person case that turns into a homicide investigation,” said Capt. Akins.

Police are withholding the victim’s identity while the autopsy is done at the GBI Coastal Crime Lab.

Williams will be extradited back to Statesboro under charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.