In the summer of 1987, a horrific act of violence shattered the peace of a Milledgeville, Georgia community. On July 12th, 19-year-old Evelyn Reaves, an African American female, was brutally shot inside her home on McKinley Street. The attack also claimed the lives of her mother, Dorothy Hightower, who was 41, and her 22-year-old sister, Sandra Reaves. The incident unfolded at approximately 3:00 a.m. While her mother and sister were killed at the scene, Evelyn Reaves clung to life for two more days before succumbing to her injuries on July 14, 1987. An autopsy later confirmed she died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The gruesome discovery was made by Dorothy Hightower's brother, Curtis Reaves, and his wife. They had arrived at the residence after 2:00 a.m. to pick up their daughter, who had been staying with the family and was thankfully unharmed. Upon entering the home, they found the devastating scene and immediately alerted the authorities. The subsequent investigation quickly focused on one primary suspect: John Washington Hightower, Dorothy's husband and the stepfather of Evelyn and Sandra.
Law enforcement apprehended Hightower around 4:30 a.m. on the same day as the shootings. He was found driving his wife's car. Inside the vehicle, on the driver's side floorboard, investigators discovered a small caliber handgun. This weapon was later identified as the instrument used in the triple homicide, with traces of flesh and blood found on it, directly linking it to the crime. It was later revealed that Hightower had purchased the gun and ammunition just the day before the murders.
In 1988, John Washington Hightower was convicted for the murders of his wife and two stepdaughters. A jury composed of seven women and five men found him guilty. Testimony revealed that he had waited for the three women to fall asleep before he shot them. During his confession, Hightower stated he shot at Evelyn Reaves about three times, even clearing a jammed shell before continuing his assault. When asked why he spared the 3-year-old child in the house, he callously replied that he 'didn't have any problems with the baby.' Following his conviction, Hightower was sentenced to death. After years of exhausting his appeals, John Washington Hightower was executed by lethal injection on June 26, 2007, bringing a final, somber chapter to a case that left a lasting scar on the community.
