On the morning of January 30, 2021, 88-year-old Bobby Carlton Kicklighter, a male and beloved local historian, was found dead in his Glennville, Georgia, home from multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation into his death uncovered a tragic case of mistaken identity rooted in a murder-for-hire plot connected to a contraband smuggling ring at Smith State Prison. Kicklighter was not the intended victim.
The actual target was a correctional officer who lived next door to him and was known for his strict enforcement against contraband entering the prison.
The plot was orchestrated by Nathan Weekes, an inmate at Smith State Prison. Weekes conspired via text messages with his girlfriend and former Georgia Department of Corrections employee, Keisha Janae Jones, and another inmate, Christopher Reginald Sumlin, who had been paroled in October 2020. Weekes allegedly hired Sumlin to kill the correctional officer. On the night of the murder, Sumlin was driven to the location by Aerial Murphy, who was Jones's roommate at the time. Mistaking Kicklighter's house for the officer's, Sumlin broke in through a side door and shot the elderly man to death while he was in his home.
The investigation led to the arrests of four individuals. Christopher Sumlin was charged with a multitude of offenses, including murder, home invasion, aggravated assault, and elder abuse. Nathan Weekes was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and party to a crime, in addition to charges related to the contraband smuggling operation. Keisha Janae Jones and Aerial Murphy were also arrested and faced charges including conspiracy to commit felony murder and tampering with evidence. A critical piece of evidence that linked Sumlin to the scene was a face mask found near the driveway of Kicklighter's home, which contained his DNA.
In April 2022, a grand jury indicted Sumlin, Weekes, Jones, and Murphy on numerous charges, including malice murder and felony murder. The indictment also detailed a larger criminal enterprise involving a multi-million dollar contraband scheme, alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Prosecutors announced their intention to seek the death penalty for both Christopher Sumlin and Nathan Weekes. In November 2022, both men were formally arraigned and pleaded not guilty. The legal proceedings in this complex case are ongoing.
