Judson Lee Fielding, a 40-year-old former Marine, disappeared on a cold afternoon in Augusta, Georgia. On that day, he left his mother's home, where he had been staying, to visit his four children at their residence in Delta Manor. He arrived at his children's home but was never seen or heard from again after leaving. An unsettling detail noted by his children was that he left without his jacket, suggesting to them that he did not intend to be gone for a long period. At the time of his disappearance, Fielding was reportedly trying to turn his life around after a two-year prison sentence for a drug-related charge. He had aspirations of obtaining a commercial truck driver's license and was taking steps toward a more stable future.
The circumstances surrounding Fielding's disappearance became clearer over time, revealing a connection to a serious criminal case.
It emerged that Fielding, along with another man named Charles Joseph Winfield, had been arrested with Willie Carl Hankerson Jr. after the discovery of PCP in their vehicle. Both Fielding and Winfield had cooperated with law enforcement, testifying against Hankerson before a grand jury, and were scheduled to provide further testimony at his trial. In the time leading up to his disappearance, a fearful Fielding had confided in his family that he believed someone was after him and that his life was in danger. His and Winfield's vanishing before the trial led to the dismissal of Hankerson's indictment.
Years later, a significant break in the case occurred. In December 2005, Leo Lamont Utley was charged with the murders of both Fielding and Winfield. Authorities alleged that Hankerson had paid Utley a substantial amount of money to eliminate the two men to prevent their testimony. Shortly after his arrest, Utley took his own life in his jail cell. Hankerson later pleaded guilty to four counts of murder as part of a continuing criminal enterprise and was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role in Fielding's murder and other crimes. According to Hankerson's account, he and his relatives located Fielding in Augusta, restrained him, and forced him to admit his cooperation with federal authorities before Utley arrived, taped his mouth, and took him away in a van. Despite these developments and the legal closure of the case, Judson Lee Fielding's body has never been recovered.Last Seen: Dec 4, 1994
