911 caller said: ‘My whole family is dead’

A FRANTIC caller told authorities he had just come home to find several family members beaten to death and another barely breathing, according to a 911 call released yesterday following the weekend attack at a mobile home park in south-eastern Georgia.

“My whole family is dead,” screamed Guy Heinze Jr, 22. “It looks like they’ve been beaten. I don’t know what to do man.”

When police arrived, they found seven people dead and two clinging to life.

Police have refused to say how they were killed or give a possible motive. An eighth person died on Sunday night.

On the call, made from a neighbour’s home, Heinze said his father, uncle and cousins were among the dead.

He also pleads with a 911 operator to send help for one of two survivors whose face was “smashed in” but was still breathing. Heinze says the survivor’s name is Michael and that he has Down’s syndrome.

“Michael’s alive, tell them to hurry,” Heinze said. “He’s breathing, he needs help.”

Police said one man rescued at the scene, 19-year-old Michael Toler, had died at a Savannah hospital. The lone remaining survivor was in critical condition, police said.

Police have said the killer was not among the dead or the last survivor.

The victims ranged in age from teenagers to adults.

Police have arrested Heinze, the 911 caller, on suspicion of tampering with evidence, lying to police and illegal possession of prescription drugs and marijuana. He was jailed on Sunday.

Asked if Heinze was involved in the slayings, Police Chief Matt Doering said: “I’m not going to rule him out, but I’m not going to characterise him as a suspect.”

Police acknowledged they don’t know if the killer was still out there, urging residents to be aware and cautious.

“The person or persons responsible for this still remain unknown to us,” Doering said, adding the killer could have fled to another county or even another state.

“I cannot tell you if they are at large. I simply do not know.”

The uncertainty has created fear among some in the town.

Resident Toni Mugavin said she wonders if she needs to sleep with a gun under her pillow, afraid the killer is still on the loose.

Mugavin expressed frustration with the lack of information they have been given about what happened.

“There’s no manhunt, no suspect. Was it a murder-suicide? There’s nothing specific they’re telling us,” Mugavin, 50, said.

Doering defended his vague statements about the case, saying he didn’t want the public to know details that might compromise what he called a “tedious” investigation.