Remember the bizarre story of a triple homicide that occurred nearly a year ago at a golf course just north of Atlanta?
Almost 11 months after Pinetree Country Club pro Gene Siller, 46, and two others were found dead at the golf course in Kennesaw, Georgia, a Cobb County grand jury finally indicted three suspects in connection with the incident.
Bryan Rhoden, Justin Pruitt and Taylor Cameron were named in the 18-count indictment in the shooting deaths of Siller, Paul Pierson and Henry Valdez last July 3.
Siller was found dead near the No. 10 green at Pinetree, when he responded to calls about a pickup truck on the golf course. Police later found Pierson and Valdez slain in the bed of a Dodge pickup.
Investigators say Rhoden and Pruitt abducted Pierson, 76, of Topeka, Kansas, and Valdez, 46, of Anaheim, California, in Jonesboro, Georgia, bound them with duct tape and zip ties then drove them to the golf course 40 miles away before shooting them. Valdez and Pierson had no apparent connection to the club, and sheriff's officials say Siller, who was called to investigate when a truck appeared on the golf course, simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Rhoden is charged with malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and tampering with evidence. Police say he hid a gun at the golf course that he used to murder the three men. Pruitt has been charged with felony murder and kidnapping with bodily injury, while Taylor is charged with criminal attempt to commit tampering with evidence after she drove to the crime scene to pick up the gun, according to the sheriff’s office.
Rhoden was arrested last July 8. Pruitt has been in jail in Columbia, South Carolina, since last September on charges of trafficking cocaine.
Club members told sheriff’s investigators that they saw the truck near the 10th green, then heard shouting followed by several gunshots as Siller fell to the ground and one of the suspects disappeared into nearby woods.
Rhoden has a history of violent crime, according to police. He was arrested in 2016 and charged with assault, attempted murder and possessing a firearm on campus when he was involved in a drug deal gone bad at Georgia State University, where he was a student at the time, police said.
Pinetree, a Chick Adams design, opened in 1962. Georgia native Larry Nelson was an assistant pro there before embarking on a Hall of Fame PGA Tour career.
