Suspect Arrested in Murder of Georgia Golf Pro and Two Others
Police believe golf pro Siller was killed because he witnessed a crime in progress.
via YouTube/11Alive
A man was arrested Thursday and charged with shooting and killing three men at a country club in an Atlanta suburb.
The suspect, who was taken into custody in Chamblee, Georgia, was identified as Bryan Rhoden. Rhoden has been charged with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of kidnapping. Police have not yet released details on a motive, but they believe Rhoden acted alone.
The triple homicide last Saturday at the Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw claimed the lives of the country club’s head golf pro Gene Siller, 41, Paul Pierson, 76, and Henry Valdez, 46. The bodies of Pierson and Valdez were found in the back of Pierson’s white Dodge Ram 3500 pickup. Siller was found on the green of the golf course’s 10th hole.
Police believe Siller was shot in the head because he “witnessed an active crime taking place.” The connection between Pierson, who lived in Topeka, and Valdez, who was from California, has not been made public. Neither was affiliated with the country club, and police said Thursday that they seemed “to have no relation to the location at all.”
“We definitely feel confident there was no relationship between the shooter and Mr. Siller,” Cobb County Police Chief Tim Cox said Thursday. It is unclear where Rhoden lives, with authorities only saying he “has ties to the metro Atlanta area.”
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Siller was a regular in Professional Golfers’ Association tournaments. Both the PGA and the Georgia State Golfing Association issued statements of sympathy for Siller’s family. He was a father of two children ages 6 and 7.
Valdez’s sister Erna told The Daily Beast, “Henry was a loving son, brother, uncle, and friend. A lover of music, surfing, traveling, and made friends wherever he traveled to. His laugh could erupt a room and his big heart will be missed greatly.”
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