The Murder of Timothy Coggins | Morbid | Podcast

On the evening of October 9, 1983, twenty-three-year-old Timothy Coggins met up with some friends for a night out at the People’s Choice club, a popular night club in Griffin, Georgia, a rural area about forty-five minutes outside of Atlanta. When Tim didn’t return home the next day, his family assumed he’d stayed at a friend’s house, as he often did on nights he stayed out late. Those assumptions were shattered one day later, when investigators showed up at the Coggins’ front door carrying a photograph of what would be identified as Tim’s dead, mutilated body.
At first, local investigators assured the Coggins family they would find whoever was responsible for Tim’s brutal murder; however, within just a couple weeks, it was clear they didn’t have any leads or evidence, nor did they seem all that interested in investigating Tim’s death. Eventually, the months passed into years and the case went completely cold and Tim’s family lost any hope of his killers being brought to justice. Then, more than three decades after his death, investigators contacted the Coggins family and told them they’d found the men responsible for Tim’s death.
Timothy Coggins’ story is yet another reminder of how in many parts of the United States, the hideous beliefs of a bygone era are still alive and well, devastating families and perverting the justice system.
Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe and 99 Cent Rental Podcasts for Research!
References
Boone, Christian. 2018. "Well proves crucial in cold murder case." Atlanta Journal Constitution, July 1.
-. 2017. "2 boasted of dragging black man behind pickup truck." Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 1.
-. 2018. "Race center stage at trial's opening." Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 21.
Franklin Gebhard v. The State of Georgia. 2019. S19A1582 (Supreme Court of Georgia, December 23).
Gomez, Melissa, and Matt Stevens. 2018. "Conviction after 34 years in murder of Black man." New York Times, June 27.
Helm, Nelson. 2017. "5 arrested in connection with '83 murder in Spaulding County." Atlanta Constitution, October 14: B1.
-. 2017. "Dragging death case was racial." Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 2.
2022. Cold Case Files. Directed by Ricky Lewis. Performed by Ricky Lewis.
Lowery, Wesley. 2020. "A Brutal Lynching. An Indifferent Police Force. A 34-Year Wait for Justice." GQ Magazine, July 17.
McLaughlin, Eliott C. 2017. "Killers meant to 'send a message,' sheriff says of 1983." CNN Wire, October 20.
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[@MithrilMagic]

We had a case almost like this in the town I grew up in. My uncle was on the local police force and he was pulled off of the case because it was a young Italian boy who was m*rdered and my family is first Gen Italian. My uncle knew exactly who did it and what happened. But he ended up passing away before the case was “solved”. It took over 35 years to get justice. And it was heartbreaking. Why are people so hateful?! When you were talking about teaching children to hate, it made me so sad. Because you’re right! Why not teach your children to be kind? It makes life so much more enjoyable! Life is hard enough!

[@susanmissett-king1839]

"I got a tennis skirt" and "down to the socks" were not words I was expecting 😂

[@starlaphillips9169]

Just listened to this podcast today . I live in Ga. , born and raised . Your podcast made me look up more info on this . I'm happy they caught the ones that did this . I saw a KKK cross burning in a yard when I was a kid . I was staying with my grandparents..it was all happening the road from their house.

[@marleythedog3894]

Hello, a huge fellow morbid fan here, it would be awesome if you guys could do a story on Robert Pickton , Canadian Pig Farm killer. It's a wild story, there are a few wicked documentaries if you have not checked them out I highly recommend it. 😊

[@henzlee2137]

Just started this video, took about a Month break because I was having nightmares of the episodes I was listening too.....ha.....and weirdly excited to catch back up!!

[@Brainalicious]

Used a credit on Audible for The Butcher and the Wren and loved it. I pre-ordered The Butcher Game as soon as pre-orders were open! 👍🏻

[@AshleyJohnson-bh3oj]

That’s where my next credit is going

[@kjb_2022]

Unfortunately the kkk is nationwide it's not just the south. Massachusetts have their own chapter.

[@paloma2674]

Yeah...I live on the West Coast and there's a chapter in my town.

[@Teddybearferrin]

I’m listening to this on my way to work and now I’m fucking MAD. As a white gay man listening about someone getting dragged and linched is horrid. Thank you for bringing this story to light.

[@JodyKoston]

In 1999 I went to Wilmington Ohio for two weeks for work (from So Cali) and was told I could only have one photo of my son (just him) on my desk because it was offensive. I'm white, soon is part Filipino. I brought in several more, I'm like yeah let's do this. It was a coworker that was white her husband was black, she accepted that and did not put up a family pic like all the other employees.

[@lisascorp]

Thats terrible. Unbelievable. In this day and age.

[@J_essyJames]

11:03 my grandma was Viola Gladys

[@Brezzy369]

💜💜💜

[@donnae2013]

My great grandma’s name was Viola. I love her.

[@makeitpopshoppe8663]

This was a good case but way too much bantering and chit chat in between from the hosts.

[@alyssareed3666]

here’s an idea: don’t watch this specific podcast if you don’t like how they do it

[@LeelaRae84]

Yeah… the north is wayyyy racist too. I, 2 years ago, went on vacation with my African American boyfriend to go to Salem. (I love spooky shit) and we stayed in Boston for a few days. We had MULTIPLE people in Boston call me a “race traitor”, throw things at us from cars, my bf was called the “n” word MULTIPLE times, I was called a “n word” lover in restaurants… we ran into another couple randomly that were interracial (she was black he was white) and my bf casually asked if they were getting any negative interactions from the locals and they were so quick to tell us they were leaving early and headed back home to ALABAMA because they had never experienced such hate and didn’t feel safe.