In the autumn of 1977, the life of 45-year-old Betty Jo Ephlin was violently cut short in what would become a cold case that haunted Clayton County, Georgia, for over two decades. On November 12, 1977, Ephlin and her live-in boyfriend, 45-year-old Fred Wyatt, were shot and killed. Her body was later discovered dumped in the Flint River. The initial investigation into their deaths grew cold, leaving family and community members without answers for years.
The silence surrounding the case
was finally broken in 2003 with a significant breakthrough. Advances in DNA technology led investigators to a roofer from Locust Grove named Carl Millard Patton Jr. The renewed investigation, spearheaded by the Fayette County Sheriff's Major, uncovered a dark tale of a contract killing. It was revealed that Patton had been hired by Fred Wyatt's common-law wife, Marie Jackson Wyatt, to murder him. The motive appeared to be a life insurance policy and Wyatt's relationship with Ephlin.
Patton did not act alone. He was assisted by his friend, Joe Cleveland, in carrying out the murders of both Wyatt and Ephlin. Following his arrest, Patton's wife, Norma, became a key witness for the prosecution, providing crucial testimony against her husband. In March 2003, Carl Millard Patton Jr. pleaded guilty to the murders of Betty Jo Ephlin and Fred Wyatt. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison. Patton also confessed to and was convicted of other murders, ultimately being recognized as a serial killer.
