Joseph Thomas Cleveland was 28 and working as a firefighter when he was shot to death in DeKalb County, Georgia, on December 17, 1977. Patton reportedly wrapped Cleveland’s body in a sleeping bag, weighted it with cinder blocks, and submerged it in the Flint River; Evans’s body was also disposed of in the river. Cleveland’s remains were recovered days later.

Police questioned Patton soon after the killings and found bloodstains in his car trunk that later matched Evans, but investigators did not have enough to charge him at the time and the case went cold. Decades later DNA testing is said to have linked Patton to the scene; his wife, Norma, reportedly testified against him in exchange for immunity. Patton was convicted in the killings attributed to him and received multiple life terms.

If anyone knew Joe Cleveland, Liddie Matthew Evans, or saw activity around DeKalb County or the Flint River in December 1977, can you share what you remember?