In a quiet community in Barnesville, Georgia, a tragedy unfolded on June 13, 2019, leaving three family members dead in what investigators determined to be a double murder-suicide. The deceased were 88-year-old Charles Gregory 'Smitty' Sutton, a male, his 50-year-old cousin Al Ogletree, and his 55-year-old stepson, Frenchie Fambro.
The grim discovery began in the afternoon when Al Ogletree was found deceased in the doorway of his home on Fredonia Church Road, having suffered head trauma. About half an hour later, law enforcement was called to a second residence just a half-mile away. There, they found the bodies of Charles Sutton and Frenchie Fambro. Investigators believe that Fambro shot and killed Ogletree and then his stepfather, Sutton, before taking his own life. Fambro was found in a bed with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and a weapon was recovered near his body.
The motive for the tragic events remains unclear, though investigators found a note written by Fambro. The contents of the note were described as a 'jumbled mess' addressed to his mother, and while it named the two victims, it did not provide a clear reason for the violence. Family and friends were left devastated and searching for answers, describing Sutton as a man everyone loved and looked up to.
Further investigation into Frenchie Fambro's background revealed that he had been involved in a fatal shooting in 2011 at a Barnesville gas station. However, in that case, he was exonerated under Georgia's 'stand your ground' law. In the 2019 incident, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted the Lamar County Sheriff's Office in the investigation, which was quickly classified as a double murder-suicide, assuring the public that there was no ongoing danger. No arrests were made as the sole suspect was deceased.
