Gene Siller, a 46-year-old golf professional and PGA director of golf at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Georgia, was shot and killed in a senseless crime on July 3, 2021.
The graduate of Purdue University was four days shy of his birthday and survived by his wife, Ashley Siller, two sons, Beau and Banks, his parents and sisters.
While at work on the golf course over the July Fourth weekend, Siller noticed a white pickup truck had driven onto the 10th green of the country club and was hanging over the edge of a sand trap. According to authorities, Siller came across a "crime in progress" and was killed by Bryan Rhoden, who was 23 years old at the time.
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During an interview in August 2021, Siller’s wife told WSB-TV, "Gene wouldn’t want us to cry or be sad or to mourn. He would want us to celebrate him and do something for other people."
According to the Georgia PGA website, on "every Sunday you could find Gene playing a round of 18 holes with his sons" and that Siller was "respected" and "had the biggest heart for all people and animals."
Police said they found two other bodies at the scene and identified them as Rhoden’s other victims, 46-year-old Henry Valdez and 76-year-old Paul Pierson. The men were Rhoden’s drug supplier and shipper, according to WSB-TV.
Police said Siller and the golf course were not targeted by the offender but that Siller happened upon an active crime.
Rhoden was arrested a few hours after the killings by the Chamblee Police Department. He was indicted on charges including kidnapping with bodily injury, malice murder and felony murder, among others, and he was being held at Cobb County Jail at the time.
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While incarcerated and awaiting a September 2022 hearing, Rhoden posted on Instagram and referred to his charges as "erroneous," according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
At the hearing on Sept. 1, Rhoden pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy III of Cobb County, where District Attorney Flynn Broady was present. Broady, before the hearing, expressed the intent to seek the death penalty.
A warrant was issued for Justin Caleb Pruitt, who was listed as a "co-conspirator and accomplice." He was arrested and indicted on charges including felony murder and kidnapping with bodily injury. Rhoden and Pruitt together were accused of binding Valdez and Pierson with duct tape and zip ties before holding them against their will, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
Pruitt was previously indicted in 2019, along with 12 others, by a South Carolina grand jury in relation to alleged cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to traffic cocaine dating to 2011.
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A third person, Georgia mother Taylor Nicole Cameron, who was 26 years old at the time, was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit tampering with evidence during the investigation into the triple homicide.
Authorities said messages between Cameron and Rhoden provided enough evidence to arrest Cameron for planning to drive to the golf course and retrieve the murder weapon. She was arrested in early January 2022.
A negotiated plea deal from February 2024, ensured life behind bars for Rhoden, who received three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
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He pleaded guilty to all 17 counts against him on Feb. 2, 2024. The charges included felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence.
After the shootings of three people, text messages proved Rhoden went drinking with a female friend, according to WSB-TV.
During the February 2024 court appearance, Siller’s wife addressed her husband’s killer and asked, "Casamigos, huh? Is that the ‘I just murdered three people’ cocktail of choice?"
As she gave her impact statement in court, Ashley added that Rhoden is a "monster" and his "lack of remorse is so insulting."
Pruitt and Cameron’s cases are still pending.
