Cold Case Murder Suspect Arrested 33 Years Later: Police

ROSWELL, GA — The Roswell Police Department has made an arrest in the 1988 murder of 8-year-old Joshua Harmon.

James Michael Coates, 56, of Woodstock, was taken into custody July 21 and booked into the Fulton County Jail on multiple charges, including murder. Roswell detectives arrested Coates after DNA evidence collected from the crime scene linked him to the murder, police said in a news release.

On May 15, 1988, Joshua was reported missing by his parents after not returning home for dinner. After searches over the following 48 hours, Joshua’s body was found in a wooded area near the Raintree Way apartment where he lived. Roswell detectives, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, investigated the case and collected evidence, but the case went unsolved.

Investigators regularly revisited the case over the intervening years in pursuit of justice for Joshua and his family, and evidence was consistently re-examined to keep pace with evolving leads and advancing technology.

In February 2021, with the permission of his family, Joshua’s body was exhumed in hopes of identifying further evidence. In March, the Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative taskforce, a subset of the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, provided the Roswell Police Department with funding to pursue additional DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene.

Recently, investigators received the results of that testing performed by an independent laboratory, CyberGenetics Inc., which linked Coates to the crime. He was taken into custody without incident on a traffic stop the morning of July 21.

• Murder
• Felony Murder
• Aggravated Assault
• Aggravated Sodomy
• Aggravated Child Molestation
• Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes
• False Imprisonment
• Cruelty to Children, First Degree
• Concealing the Death of Another
• Tampering with Evidence

"This was a tragedy that no family should endure," Roswell Police Chief James Conroy said in a news release. "The death of Josh and the fact that his killer remained free for such a long time is unimaginable. I hope this arrest brings the Harmon family a sense of closure. The many officers, detectives, special agents, attorneys, scientists and retirees who worked this case never gave up hope in bringing Josh’s killer to justice. They are truly heroes, and I thank each one for their dedication and perseverance."

This arrest would not have come to fruition without the collaborative effort of a number of partner agencies. The Roswell Police Department would like to thank the GBI, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Task Force, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego Police Department Forensic Science Laboratory, Bode Technologies, Clements DNA Consulting, and CyberGenetics Inc.

While an arrest has been made, police said this does still remain an active investigation. Roswell Police is asking that anyone with information about this case to contact the department at 770-640-4100, or provide anonymous information through Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS(8477).