Roger Allen Blankenship was a 42-year-old White man and a lifelong resident of Albany, Georgia, where he worked in the lawn care business. Born in Albany on August 29, 1980, he was a father to two children, Hannah Faye and Roger Jr. According to his family, he loved grilling and cooking out, his cats, and cheering for the Georgia Bulldogs.
On July 1, 2023, Blankenship died at his residence. When first responders were called to the home, located in the 400 block of Cannon Avenue, they discovered a wound on his head. Based on its appearance, authorities initially believed he had been shot and killed, and they began treating the case as a homicide.
The initial belief that a crime had occurred was reinforced by what District Attorney Greg Edwards later described as "suspicious" activity at the scene. This included a delay in reporting the death, conflicting testimony from witnesses, and evidence that a gun had been moved.
Based on this information, the Albany Police Department arrested a local woman and her 16-year-old daughter in connection with Blankenship’s death. The woman was charged with murder, and a charge of tampering with evidence was also filed.
The investigation took a decisive turn two days later. An autopsy performed on July 3, 2023, revealed that the wound on Blankenship's head was not from a gunshot. The medical examiner concluded that his death was the result of natural causes. Following this finding, District Attorney Edwards announced that all charges against the mother and daughter, including murder, had been dropped. As of July 2023, investigators were awaiting final toxicology results to determine the specific cause of death, and the case was no longer considered a homicide.
