On the evening of January 26, 1995, a robbery at Roy's Bait Shop in Griffin, Georgia, turned fatal, ending the life of the store's owner, 52-year-old Ed Allen, a Caucasian male. The events unfolded at approximately 8:45 p.m. when a man, later identified as Frederick Whatley, entered the establishment brandishing a. 32 caliber silver revolver. Whatley's calculated and violent actions in the moments that followed would leave a lasting impact on the small community.
Inside the bait shop, Whatley immediately asserted control, forcing an employee, Tommy Bunn, to lie face-down on the floor behind the counter. With the gun pressed to Bunn's head, Whatley demanded money from Allen. Complying with the assailant's orders, Allen filled a paper sack with cash from the register and placed it on the counter. After retrieving the bag, Whatley fired two shots. One bullet struck Allen in the chest, piercing his left lung from a distance of about 18 inches. The second shot was aimed at Bunn's head but was deflected by the countertop, miraculously missing him.
As Whatley exited the store, he encountered Ray Coursey, who was getting out of his car nearby. Whatley held Coursey at gunpoint and forced him back into his vehicle, intending to use him as a getaway driver. Despite being mortally wounded, Ed Allen retrieved a hidden. 44 caliber handgun and rushed to the front of his store. He fired several shots at Whatley, who returned fire before fleeing on foot. The paper sack of money tore open, and Whatley dropped it as he ran. Allen collapsed shortly after the exchange of gunfire, succumbing to the internal bleeding caused by the initial gunshot wound.
The investigation led police to the house where Frederick Whatley was staying with a relative. During a consent search, they found Whatley with a still-bleeding bullet wound to his leg. Under his mattress, they discovered the. 32 caliber silver revolver, later confirmed to be the murder weapon. Investigators also found a bloody pair of thermal underwear with a bullet hole, a bloody towel, and bloody boxer shorts in a trash can behind the residence. Whatley's palm print was found on the paper sack left at the scene. He was subsequently arrested, convicted for the murder of Ed Allen, and sentenced to death. Evidence presented during the penalty phase of his trial revealed that at the time of the murder, Whatley was an escapee from a halfway house in Washington D.C., where he had been serving time for robbery.
