In the late hours of an autumn evening in Athens, Georgia, the life of Brian Benjamin Bellard, a 44-year-old white male, came to a sudden and violent end. On October 10, 2025, he was discovered in his bedroom at the Lodge of Athens apartment complex, having been fatally shot. The discovery was made by his roommate, Lewis Kern, who placed a 911 call at 11:22 p.m., reporting that he had heard a gunshot and found Bellard unresponsive on his bed with a gun in his hand.
The events leading up
to the tragic discovery began earlier that evening. According to Kern's account to the police, he and Bellard had returned to their apartment after being at a downtown bar. An argument erupted between the two men over the prospect of bringing women back to their shared residence. The disagreement escalated from verbal to physical, with the two wrestling on the ground, resulting in a broken table in the living room. Following the altercation, Kern told authorities he was getting ready to take a shower when he was startled by the sound of a gunshot. It was then that he went to investigate and found his roommate.
Athens-Clarke County detectives launched an investigation into Bellard's death. An autopsy was scheduled with the state medical examiner to officially determine the cause and manner of death. In the initial stages of the inquiry, authorities had not publicly named any suspects or made any arrests in connection with the shooting. The investigation remained active as they awaited the results of the autopsy and continued to piece together the events of that night.
A strange and somber turn of events occurred two months later when Lewis Kern was also found deceased in the same apartment. Police discovered Kern's body on a Tuesday morning in December after his boss requested a welfare check due to Kern's absence from work. According to his employer, Kern had been struggling with Bellard's death, as well as the recent passing of both of his parents. Authorities stated that both deaths were still under investigation. As of the latest available information, there did not appear to be anything criminal in Bellard's case, but it remained an active investigation.
