Arrest Made Nearly 28 Years After Woman Was Found Murdered in Georgia

Nearly 28 years after a 20-year-old woman was found fatally stabbed along a Georgia highway, investigators have arrested and charged a man in connection with her death.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced on October 2, 2026, that 47-year-old James Lawrence III of Irwin County had been arrested in the 1998 death of Christy Dawn Myers.

A case that remained unsolved for decades

Myers was 20 years old when she was found with multiple stab wounds near her vehicle along the Broxton-Fitzgerald Highway in Coffee County, Georgia, on September 15, 1998.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Office asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist with the death investigation. Despite the work that followed, the case remained unresolved for decades.

Investigators continued reviewing the evidence as forensic technology developed and additional testing became possible.

Forensic evidence points to a suspect

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, continued forensic testing eventually helped investigators identify Lawrence as a suspect in Myers’ death.

The new evidence provided investigators with a breakthrough in a case that had remained open for almost three decades.

Lawrence was taken into custody on October 1, 2026, and booked into the Coffee County Jail. The Irwin County Sheriff’s Office assisted investigators in locating and arresting him.

Multiple charges filed

Lawrence faces charges of felony murder, malice murder and aggravated assault in connection with Myers’ death.

The charges represent allegations against the accused. The case will now proceed through the court system, where prosecutors will have to present evidence supporting the charges.

Investigators kept working on the case

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said its Regional Investigative Office in Douglas and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office remained committed to finding answers in Myers’ death throughout the years.

The arrest illustrates how evidence from an old investigation can be revisited as forensic testing advances. A case that began in 1998 has now entered a new stage, with a suspect facing serious criminal charges nearly three decades after the young woman’s death.

The investigation remains part of the judicial process, and further proceedings will determine how the evidence is evaluated in court.

Sources: Georgia Bureau of Investigation.