On a tragic day in Appling, Georgia, 85-year-old Rheba Mae Dent's life was cut short in a violent rampage that claimed the lives of four others. The peaceful life of the matriarch, who was born in Appling on August 5, 1928, ended on April 22, 2016, a victim of gun violence stemming from a domestic dispute.
The perpetrator was 50-year-old Wayne Anthony Hawes, the common-law husband of one of Dent's daughters.
Hawes embarked on a shooting spree at two different locations, his anger apparently fueled by his wife's decision to leave him. At one home, he fatally shot Rheba Mae Dent, her 75-year-old brother, Roosevelt Burns, and her 31-year-old granddaughter, Trequilla Aisha “Kelia” Clark. At a second location, he murdered 59-year-old Lizzy Williams and her 62-year-old husband, Shelly Williams.
In the aftermath of the horrific events, law enforcement launched a search for Hawes. They eventually located him at his own residence, where he was discovered to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His daughter described him as a 'ticking time bomb,' revealing that he had made threats in the past, though the family never anticipated the deadly extent of his rage. As Hawes was the sole suspect and had taken his own life, no arrests were made in connection with the five murders.
