A debt-collection visit ended in murder for 46-year-old Marcus Lee Caswell Jr. of Newnan, Georgia. On August 8, 2021, Caswell and his 31-year-old roommate, Travis Michael Lodato, went to the LaGrange home of Joshua Wayne Nutt to retrieve money Nutt allegedly owed them. During the several-hour visit, Nutt shot Caswell once at the base of the skull and shot Lodato multiple times. After the shootings, Nutt robbed the men of jewelry and other items, attempted to hide evidence by spray-painting one of the victims’ motorcycles and ripping out drywall, and arranged with an accomplice to transport the bodies across the county and dump them in West Point Lake.

Caswell’s body was found floating in the lake by a fisherman on August 9, 2021; police recovered a gunshot wound to his head. Deputies later found the victims’ motorcycles locked in a trailer at Nutt’s home and two pools of blood in the crawlspace. Nutt was stopped after leading deputies on a chase and was arrested on August 12, 2021; his girlfriend, Abbrianna Marie Williams, was also arrested and later indicted. Nutt was indicted on malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery and related counts, and during his trial he claimed self-defense, which the jury rejected.

Did anyone who knew Marcus or his movements in early August 2021 see signs of trouble before the visit to LaGrange?