In the quiet lakeside community of Hartwell, Georgia, the evening of Saturday, April 12, 2014, took a tragic turn, ending in the untimely death of 40-year-old Jason Scott Forkin. A self-employed restaurant owner, Forkin was at his establishment, Froh's Restaurant on Lake Hartwell, after closing time when the events that would claim his life began to unfold.
That night, 46-year-old Sammy Chumley arrived at the restaurant armed with a gun.
Upon seeing Chumley, Forkin attempted to flee, running into another room and then outside to a covered dining area. Chumley pursued him and fatally shot him. The motive for this violent act appeared to be a domestic issue, as Chumley's ex-wife, Lori Weaver Chumley, was an employee at Forkin's restaurant. Authorities believe Sammy Chumley suspected his ex-wife was having an affair with Forkin.
After shooting Forkin, Chumley re-entered the restaurant and forced his ex-wife into a car at gunpoint, abducting her from the scene. The tragic chain of events concluded in Franklin County at the site of a burned-out home where the Chumleys had once lived. There, Sammy Chumley shot and killed Lori Weaver Chumley before turning the gun on himself, ending his own life.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist the Hart County Sheriff's Office in the investigation of what was determined to be a double murder-suicide. The investigation concluded that Chumley acted alone in the planning and execution of the devastating events that cut short the lives of three people.
