A teenager is shot and killed while walking to his friend's home in Newnan, GA In the fall of 2011, 17-year-old Blake Tyler Chappell, a Caucasian male, was enjoying a memorable night at his homecoming dance in Newnan, Georgia. On October 16, 2011, after leaving his girlfriend's home to walk to a friend's house in the Summergrove neighborhood, he vanished. What began as a missing person case took a grim turn two months later. On December 19, 2011, Chappell's body was discovered in a creek.
An autopsy later confirmed that the teenager had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head. When found, he was only wearing an undershirt and underwear, and his personal belongings were never recovered.
For nearly 14 years, the case of Blake Chappell's death remained a painful mystery for his family and the Newnan community, weighing heavily on all who knew him. The investigation saw periods of inactivity, though police had cleared a few persons of interest over the years. A significant development occurred when police received anonymous letters with tips regarding the case, prompting them to publicly ask the writer to come forward again in 2023. In March 2024, new leads led to the execution of search warrants at three homes in Sharpsburg and the collection of new evidence.
A major breakthrough in the long-unsolved case came in September 2025 with the arrest of Scotty Elliot Smith. Smith, who had not previously been a suspect, was identified as a person of interest. During multiple interviews with detectives, Smith allegedly confessed to killing Chappell. He was subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, concealing the death of another, and tampering with evidence. Despite the confession reported by police, Scotty Elliot Smith later entered a plea of not guilty in Coweta County Superior Court in February 2026. The investigation remains ongoing as the community awaits the next steps in the legal process.
