'Cold Case': Walton Sheriff Seeks Help In 1998 Murder

MONROE, GA — Walton County authorities are asking for the public's help in cracking a "cold case" from 1998 in which a local man was stabbed to death.

At about 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, 1998, the Walton County 911 center received a call reporting an abandoned vehicle off the road on Birch Street.

City of Monroe police responded and found the vehicle about 250 feet off of the roadway in a field of scrub brush and trees. Investigating the vehicle, they found the body of an adult male in the passenger's seat.

Willie Charles Wright, of Barrow County, was later found to have died as a result of knife wounds.

Investigators determined that the vehicle had been pushed off the road and rolled across a field before coming to rest by a small cluster of trees. The white Ford was registered to, and owned by, Wright.

The police department requested assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Investigators learned that Wright was known to visit Monroe weekly to visit friends and buy drugs. A number of leads were investigated over a two-year period, but leads dried up and no evidence was found that led to an arrest.

The case went cold and has remained unsolved.

Anyone with knowledge about this crime is asked to contact Monroe Police Department Detective Ricky Chambers at 770-870-9885 or email rchambers@monroega.gov. Walton County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Investigator Michael Rising may also be contacted at 770-266-1558 or email michael.rising@co.walton.ga.us. All contacts will be kept confidential.

Photo courtesy Walton County Sheriff's Office