In the quiet community of Chatham, Georgia, the life of 40-year-old Teresa Gail Taylor, a Caucasian female, was brutally cut short on May 31, 1993. She was discovered in the carport of her home, the victim of a violent attack that was part of a larger, terrifying crime spree that had gripped the area over the Memorial Day weekend. An investigation revealed she had been shot multiple times with a. 22 caliber rifle and had also sustained a severe knife wound to her wrist.
The search for her killer led authorities to Billy Daniel Raulerson Jr. His connection to Teresa's murder was part of a string of violent acts he committed. Before breaking into Taylor's home, Raulerson had shot and killed 18-year-old Charlye Dixon and her 19-year-old fiancé, Jason Hampton, at a local 'lovers' lane'. After shooting Hampton multiple times, he shot Dixon as she tried to escape, then kidnapped her, took her to a wooded area, shot her again, and committed a sexual assault. It was after these horrific events that he made his way to Teresa Gail Taylor's residence and ended her life.
Seven months after the murders, Raulerson was arrested on unrelated charges of aggravated assault and weapons possession. During that investigation, a DNA sample was taken from him. This sample would prove to be the key to solving the triple homicide. The DNA evidence linked Raulerson to the murder of Charlye Dixon, and he eventually confessed to killing all three victims. A search of his home uncovered a fishing rod and reel belonging to Jason Hampton and parts of a. 22 caliber rifle. Ballistics testing confirmed that the shell casings found at the crime scenes were fired from this rifle. In March 1996, Billy Daniel Raulerson Jr. was convicted of the murders of Teresa Gail Taylor, Charlye Dixon, and Jason Hampton. He was also found guilty of burglary, kidnapping, necrophilia, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and was subsequently sentenced to death.
