A man is murdered and his body disposed of in a wooded area
On December 28, 2020, 23-year-old Chanceler McCall, a Black male, was reported missing in Decatur, Georgia. His mother last saw him driving his maroon Dodge Challenger, heading to the home of a man with whom he had an ongoing dispute over a debt. That evening, DeKalb County police responded to a call about a person shot on Donnell Way, where they discovered a pool of blood in the road that someone had seemingly tried to wash away with a nearby water hose. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and seeing two men put a body into a dark-colored vehicle and drive away. Although officers found shell casings at the scene, the victim was gone.
A few days later, on December 31, McCall's mother officially reported him missing. The investigation quickly gained momentum when DNA from the blood found at the scene matched a sample provided by his mother. Investigators also located McCall's Dodge Challenger, which had been abandoned and burned about a mile and a half from the shooting scene. The search for McCall continued for over a year until December 16, 2021, when his skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area in Morgan County, near Interstate 20. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed his identity through dental records.
Even before McCall's remains were found, investigators had identified two suspects. In March 2021, police arrested Earnest Lee Johnson Jr. and Brandon Jelani McCullough. Both men were charged with felony murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. The investigation revealed that McCall was shot in front of Johnson's home, allegedly with an AR-15 rifle by Johnson, and also by McCullough. Authorities believe the two then disposed of his body. A search of Johnson's home uncovered an AR-15 that matched casings found at the scene. Further investigation showed Johnson had searched online for terms like 'malice aforethought' and 'homicide' in the days leading up to the killing.
In February 2025, Earnest Lee Johnson, then 28, was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, arson in the second degree, and concealing the death of another. The charges against the second suspect, Brandon Jelani McCullough, were eventually dropped, as the prosecution did not believe they had enough evidence to prove the case against him beyond a reasonable doubt. A DeKalb County judge was set to schedule a sentencing hearing for Johnson in the weeks following his conviction.
