We recently told you about how several people were arrested in Griffin, Georgia in relation to a 34-year-old cold case, the murder of 23-year-old black man Timothy Coggins.

During a bail bond hearing, this week, new details emerged about the case: we learned the reason for Coggins' death.

“The murder of Timothy Coggins was due to Coggins socializing with a white female,” Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ben Coker told the judge, according to the Associated Press.

Coker, the prosecutor on the case, hoped to persuade the judge for allowing Frankie Gebhardt, 59, and Bill Moore Sr., 58, the two prime suspects in the murder, from being released on bail.

Attorneys for Gebhardt and Moore argued that the men were too old and weak to pose any threat, and that the should be allowed to roam free. Superior Court Judge Fletcher Sams disagreed, and ruled that they have to remain behind bars.

On Oct. 9, 1983, authorities found Coggins' body along a road in the Sunny Side community of Griffin. Various news outlets reported that Coggins sustained severe injuries due to being dragged behind a pickup truck.

Arrest warrants state that Coggins didn't die from those wounds, but from being stabbed and cut. His wounds reportedly left the body with “seriously disfiguring” wounds.

Gebhardt allegedly admitted many times to killing Coggins, bragging about committing the murder while drunk. He also allegedly threatened a witness by suggesting that he would kill the witness in a similar fashion to Coggins if the witness told the police.

Three other white locals have been charged with obstruction in connection to the case. Two are law enforcement officials: Lamar Bunn, a police officer; Gregory Huffman, a detention officer at the sheriff's office. Bunn has been suspended from duty; Huffman has been fired.

“It was very difficult hearing some of the things today, and seeing the defendants was very difficult as well,” said Heather Coggins, a niece of Timothy Coggins who sat in the courtroom. “It’s the first time we’ve had a chance to see them up close and personal.”

The murder case was closed for years, until new evidence discovered around March of this year led to it being reopened.

New interviews with eyewitnesses were conducted that revealed details that were not in the original case. Police stated that witnesses were "living with this information since Coggins' death but had been afraid to come forward or had not spoken of it until now."

Racially Motivated Murder in Georgia

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