Frenchie Fambro, one of the three men found shot to death in Lamar County, Georgia on June 13, 2019, was previously exonerated of a shooting under the state’s Stand Your Ground law.
Authorities now suspect that Fambro was likely the shooter who killed the two other victims, his stepfather and cousin, Sheriff Brad White said in a news conference. The Stand Your Ground law in Georgia allows citizens to use deadly force to protect themselves from fatal harm.
However, the latest deaths were homicide, according to the sheriff. You can see a photo of Frenchie Fambro here.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Sheriff Called the Recent Deaths a Double Murder Suicide
As investigators worked to unravel who was the shooter and who were the victims, the sheriff, Brad White, said in a news conference that he thinks it’s likely that Fambro shot the other two men.
The other two deceased men were named as Al Ogletree, 50, and Charlie Sutton, 88. Ogletree was Fambro’s cousin, and Sutton was his stepfather.
The sheriff said that the first call came in around 1:57 p.m. June 13 in reference to an unresponsive person. Ogletree didn’t show up for work at his trucking company job, so his workplace called a family member who went to check on him.
Horrifically, according to White, the relative saw Ogletree’s leg sticking out of the front door, which his body was obstructing.
As authorities were investigating that death, only minutes later, they received a call about two more bodies at another residence on Fredonia Church Road.
What happened next led the sheriff to characterize it all as a “double murder suicide.”
2. Authorities Say All Three Suffered Head Trauma
According to the sheriff, “stuff wasn’t adding up” at the first scene. Authorities called in crime scene experts, and then they received the second call from Charles Sutton’s wife, a bailiff at the courthouse.
At the scene, they discovered the bodies of Fambro, 55, and Sutton, 88. Authorities found a single weapon at the scene, and that weapon was “found with Frenchie Fambro,” said White.
As a result, authorities were led to believe that both crime scenes were connected and that Fambro was the likely shooter.
3. Both Families Were Well Known in Lamar County
Family gave us this picture of one of the victims in today’s double murder-suicide in Lamar County. This is Al Ogletree. He was just 50 years old. Investigators believe his cousin killed him. Watch for this story on the @wsbtv #nightbeat after the game
According to the sheriff, “both of these families are lifelong residents of Lamar County loved by many.” Friends and family members showed up at the scenes.
He indicated that Ogletree was Fambro’s first cousin. Asked whether there was any motive identified, he said that items at the scene suggested a motive, but he declined to specify what those items were because the investigation is ongoing.
The weapon being found with Fambro “would certainly point to him maybe as the shooter,” said White, “but that’s still under investigation.”
4. Fambro Was Involved in Another Shooting But Released Under the Stand Your Ground Law
One of the bodies was just taken out in Lamar County. Family members started screaming and crying. Earlier, Sheriff White called this a double murder- suicide. The three men were all related by blood or marriage. A cousin tells me they are a close family #uplateatl #11alive
The sheriff recalled how Fambro was previously involved in a “Stand Your Ground” case.
He said that, several years before, there was a shooting at a local food mart. Fambro was charged “and then released by the court’s Stand Your Ground decision.”
The sheriff recalled that Fambro had pulled up at a gas station, and a male subject “allegedly accosted him and got into his driver door and hit him and that’s when the shooting occurred.”
According to Barnesville.com, that shooting occurred in 2011 and left Christoper Martin Stepanski, 26, dead. The newspaper reported that Judge Bill Fears found that Fambro acted in self defense when he shot Stepanski because “Stepanski was in – or very near – Fambro’s car when Fambo fired, striking Stepanski twice.” You can read that court order here.
A chief magistrate, William Thomas, had previously dropped murder charges against Fambro, according to the newspaper. According to Stepanski’s obituary, he was the father of three children.
5. Authorities Believe the Victims in the Recent Murders Were Shot
Lamar County Sheriff Brad White giving update on a double murder-suicide. 3 men found dead at two houses. More details to come #uplateatl #11alive
The sheriff said the victims had “head trauma, we do believe from gunfire.” Asked again about Fambro being the likely shooter, he indicated, “Certainly we’re leaning that way. We don’t think there’s a shooter running loose anywhere.”
White said that authorities had not been called previously to any domestic disputes at the residences.
He added, “I never heard a bad word of any of them with the exception of Frenchie’s incident several years ago. These are people known by a lot of people here. We’re certainly going to be praying for them.”
According to the sheriff, no one else was home at the time of the shootings.