In the early morning hours of Friday, August 26, 2022, a sense of unease prompted a family member to request a welfare check on 80-year-old John Lark Conley at his home in Douglas, Georgia. At approximately 6:00 a.m., the Coffee County Sheriff's Office received the 911 call and dispatched deputies to his residence at 4463 Highway 32 West.
Upon their arrival, a grim scene awaited the deputies as they discovered the house was on fire. After firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze, a search of the home led to the tragic discovery of Mr. Conley, a male, deceased inside. The circumstances immediately pointed towards a death that was neither accidental nor of natural causes, prompting the Coffee County Sheriff's Department to request the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Douglas Office to lead the inquiry into the suspicious death.
The investigation quickly developed, and just two days later, on August 28, 2022, the GBI announced an arrest in connection with the case. James Schmit, a 52-year-old resident of Douglas, was taken into custody. He has been charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and arson. Following his arrest, Schmit was booked into the Coffee County Jail. The official cause of John Lark Conley's death was pending an autopsy to be performed at the GBI Medical Examiner's Office in Macon. The investigation remains active and ongoing as authorities continue to piece together the events that led to the death of the elderly resident.
