COFFEE COUNTY, Ga. — Last week, Hazlehurst Now shared the news that an arrest had finally been made in the nearly 28-year-old murder of Christy Dawn Myers, a young Coffee County mother whose death had remained unsolved since 1998. Now, newly released details provide a closer look at what happened that September night—and how investigators who refused to give up on the case ultimately used advances in forensic science to make an arrest nearly three decades later.
Christy was just 20 years old in September 1998. She lived in Broxton with her common-law husband and their young daughter. Late on the evening of Sept. 14, 1998, Christy left her home to go to a store in Broxton. Multiple people saw or spoke with her at the store that night. Witnesses also saw her leave the store alone in her vehicle. Sometime afterward, something happened along the Broxton-Fitzgerald Highway.
Residents in the area later told investigators they heard a conversation followed by the sound of a vehicle accelerating. A citizen went to investigate the disturbance and made a horrifying discovery. Shortly after midnight on Sept. 15, Christy was found dead outside her vehicle along the highway. Investigators determined that she had suffered multiple stab wounds. She was 20 years old and left behind a young daughter.
Days became months. Months became years. But Christy’s case never completely went cold for the investigators responsible for finding her killer. According to GBI Special Agent in Charge Jessica Hamilton, investigators conducted countless interviews, collected and processed evidence, administered polygraph examinations and repeatedly submitted evidence for additional testing as forensic technology improved.
Eventually, the GBI Cold Case Unit became involved and worked alongside agents from the GBI’s Douglas office and local law enforcement to develop a new investigative strategy. For Christy’s family, meanwhile, the years continued to pass without an arrest. Her family reportedly held a candlelight vigil every September in her memory.
Evidence collected in 1998 did not change. The technology available to examine it did. Investigators continued submitting evidence for testing and retesting as forensic science advanced. During Friday’s news conference, authorities revealed that the breakthrough ultimately involved what they described as “conclusive latent print and DNA” evidence.
Investigators said that evidence allowed them to tie James Lawrence III to the crime scene. The GBI has not publicly detailed exactly what physical evidence produced the fingerprint or DNA, nor has the agency explained what relationship, if any, investigators believe existed between Lawrence and Christy before her death. But after nearly 28 years, investigators said they finally had the evidence they needed to make an arrest.
During the early morning hours of Oct. 1, 2026, GBI agents joined members of the Coffee County and Irwin County sheriff’s offices at a residence in Irwin County. There, they arrested James Lawrence III, 47, without incident. Lawrence was booked into the Coffee County Jail and charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with Christy’s death. The arrest came 28 years and 16 days after Christy was found dead.
GBI Director Chris Hosey credited years of collaboration among state and local investigators, forensic scientists, intelligence analysts and prosecutors for keeping the investigation moving forward.
Perhaps the most powerful words at Friday’s news conference didn’t come from an investigator.
They came from Christy’s daughter, Chelsea Wolfe. Chelsea was only a small child when her mother was killed. She told those gathered that because her mother was taken from her when she was so young, much of what she knows about Christy has come from other people. She described her mother as happy, expressive and someone who loved to sing and take walks. Most importantly, Chelsea said she doesn’t want Christy remembered simply as a murder victim. “I don’t want my mom to be remembered as only a victim. She was so much more than that,” Chelsea said.
She thanked generations of investigators who worked the case and the community members who continued remembering her mother through the years. For a family that spent nearly three decades wondering whether an arrest would ever come, Chelsea described this moment not as the end, but as the beginning of another chapter.
An arrest does not mean the investigation is finished. The GBI says the case remains active and ongoing. Once the investigation is completed, the case file will be turned over to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Authorities are also still asking anyone with information about Christy’s death to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Douglas at 912-389-4103 or the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office at 912-384-4227. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).
Lawrence has been charged with Christy’s murder, but the charges are allegations. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Nearly 28 years after a young mother was found beside her car on a rural Coffee County highway, the criminal case is only now beginning. But for Christy’s family—and for the investigators who continued returning to the evidence year after year—the arrest represents something they waited nearly three decades to see: a major step toward an answer.
Read the GBI’s official release on the Christy Dawn Myers case
Sources: GBI, Douglas Now, WALB
