What officers were on duty around 5am in that area? And has anyone searched Austin’s phone for gps locations on if he was still at his house or if he as well snuck out?
Thank you Jordie for posting - anything to keep this stories alive, and thank you STC Case files for your hard work on these cases. HUGS
Why-what are you thinking-maybe like me? Not Newnan or Coweta cruiser, seems they can’t find a record of Blake’s stop mentioned on his text with Rion.
What about a car/cars from another county that could be involved? Clayton County ? --That’s my question.
—this is snip from the best article and most accurate = and much more than my snip about this case.
In the early summer of 2011, Blake was living briefly in Clayton County at the Hunter Ridge trailer park in Jonesboro. He was dating another girl at the time. That earlier girlfriend, who was 16 at the time, has asked her name not be mentioned in this article.
In May 2011, she ran away from home and went to Blake. Her mother and stepfather went out to look for her.
According to a May 28, 2011, Clayton County Police Supplemental Report, police responded to a disturbance call at the park. Once there, they met Blake, who told them he had been hit in the face, thrown to the ground and then kicked twice more in the face. Blake was about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds.
A witness said the suspect, the girlfriend’s stepfather, went up to him and asked where Blake was, according to the report, which added: “The suspect then lifted his shirt, showing a handgun, and said, ‘tell him I’m looking for him’ then left with another unknown male.”
Clayton officers stated in their report that witnesses said the stepfather then grabbed his stepdaughter and “put her in the trunk of the vehicle he arrived in and drove off.”
The then-girlfriend said she was not thrown in the trunk of the vehicle, although the rest of the police report was accurate.
It’s unclear what happened after that, as Blake and the girlfriend did not continue seeing each other.
On July 1, a warrant was issued by Clayton County police against Blake for interfering with custody, according to court records. Blake was 17 and considered an adult in the eyes of the law, but his then-girlfriend was a minor. He was booked in the Clayton County Jail on June 2. He spent 16 days in jail trying to raise bond, and was finally released on a $2,500 signature bond on June 18.
Pre-trial and related court matters occurred with a final court date set for Oct. 24, 2011, in Clayton County Superior Court.
On that date, Blake’s case was nolle prossed in court, a legal term basically meaning the prosecution decided to drop the case, said Tasha Mosley, solicitor general for Clayton County.
“The prosecutors spoke to the girlfriend and she said she had run away,” Mosley said. “She said Blake encouraged her to go back home. Because Blake was trying to help, trying to do the right thing and the girlfriend did not want to continue, we decided to drop the case.”
Melissa said she received a phone call from Blake’s attorney and said the stepfather told the judge he would drop the case provided “he never saw Blake again.”
Blake, who was supposed to be in court that Oct. 24, did not show up.
Melissa and I met after Blakes death- I took a puppy off her hands - she immediatley shared their story, my son named the dog TyB, for Blake Tyler. We dug in the case together and we ‘hit it hard’ for a good minute. I am a local advocate/cold case cybersleuth. We shared a house for about a year. Life happened for both of us…I took a break from the volunteering and Melissa kept on fighting to find Blake’s killer- we lost touch. I was excited when I put my volunteer shoes on again to see the renewed interest in this case. Melissa deserves to know and someone knows.
I am going to pull my file/Notebook and see if I happen to know the answer to your question about Austin’s phone…I’d assume they did…?
A couple of updates:
Police appeal to anonymous tipster in Blake Chappell …
The Newnan Times-Herald
(Police appeal to anonymous tipster in Blake Chappell murder)
AND MOST RECENTLY