Justin Davis was a 10-year-old White boy killed inside a family home in Butts County, Georgia, on October 8, 1994. Authorities say Justin was shot once in the head during a triple homicide that also claimed the lives of his grandparents, Erner and Eugene Barkley. A handgun taken from the grandfather’s bedroom was used in the killings; early reports described the scene as both a robbery and a family massacre, with the family dog reported killed as well.

Investigators focused on Justin’s older stepbrother, James Ringo McDaniel, who had been living in the home. Court records and reporting say McDaniel, after using crack cocaine, took the gun, killed the grandparents and Justin, stole the grandfather’s wallet and left to buy more crack before calling 911. He was arrested the same day; later indictments charged him with malice murder, felony murder and armed robbery. McDaniel entered guilty pleas, received a death sentence and additional life terms, but the Georgia Supreme Court in 1999 ruled his pleas involuntary and reversed the convictions. Subsequent reporting and a former GBI investigator say McDaniel confessed and ultimately served life in prison.

Did anyone in Butts County at the time remember signs of family trouble or activity around the Barkley home in early October 1994?