In the summer of 1980, a family's vacation ended in a horrifying tragedy at a rest stop on Interstate 75 near Lenox, Georgia. David Hardin, a male resident of Kentucky, his wife Katie Christine Back, and their children were returning from a trip to Daytona Beach. In the early morning hours of July 10, while the family slept in their car, they were targeted in a brutal attack.
A truck driver named William Howard Putman approached the family's vehicle. He shot and killed David Hardin as he lay in the driver's seat. When Katie Hardin attempted to exit the car, Putman grabbed her and, after she resisted and screamed for her fatally wounded husband, he shot her in the head. The couple's children and David's niece, who were also in the car, witnessed the horrific events. Putman then fled the scene in his truck.
Law enforcement was quickly alerted, and an investigation began. A description of the suspect and his vehicle was broadcast, leading to Putman's arrest at another rest area in Dooly County. During a search of his truck, authorities found a. 38 caliber revolver, which was later determined to be the murder weapon, as well as David Hardin's wallet.
William Howard Putman was charged with the murders of David Hardin and Katie Christine Back. During his trial in Cook County in September 1982, the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence, including the testimony of the eyewitnesses from the Hardin family. Putman was found guilty of both murders and sentenced to death. After a series of appeals, William Howard Putman was executed by lethal injection on November 13, 2002, for the murders of David Hardin and Katie Christine Back.
