Suspect Charged in 1996 Georgia Pastor Murder After 30-Year Investigation
Quick Look
- Harper, 47, has been charged with murder for the 1996 death of Pastor James Hand, 54, who was shot while repairing his church roof in Georgia.
- Harper is already serving a life sentence for unrelated charges.
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Why It Matters
Zachary B. Harper was charged with murder in connection with the 1996 death of Pastor James Hand, who was found shot on the roof of his church. In a separate case, Calvin Washington was charged with murder for a 2012 killing thanks to DNA advancements.
A suspect has been charged three decades after a Georgia pastor was gunned down while working on the roof of his church.
Zachary B. Harper, a 47-year-old from Hazlehurst, has been charged with murder in connection with the 1996 death of 54-year-old James Hand, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday in a press release.
Hand was a pastor at the Full Gospel Church of Snipesville in Jeff Davis County.
On June 1, 1996, deputies from the local sheriff’s office found Hand’s body with multiple gunshot wounds on the roof of his church, according to state investigators.
Hand had been repairing the roof when he was fatally shot, authorities said.
“Over the past 30 years, the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Douglas and the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office have remained committed to seeking answers in Hand’s death,” Wednesday’s press release read.
State investigators didn’t specify what led them to Harper, but rather just cited “additional information” gathered during the murder investigation.
Harper was charged with one count of felony murder and one count of malice murder. He is currently serving a life sentence on unrelated charges at Jenkins Correctional Facility.
Authorities in the neighboring state of Florida recently solved another murder from more than 14 years ago thanks to advancements in DNA testing.
Calvin Washington was charged with murder in connection with the “execution-style” killing of Ying Sun during an armed robbery at a former China Wok restaurant in September 2012, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office wrote on social media Wednesday.
“Detectives were able to link Washington to the murder and armed robbery through DNA evidence recovered from clothing, gloves, and money collected during the investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.
Washington was charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
He is currently serving 30 years in prison in connection with an unrelated incident in which he “beat his girlfriend and stabbed his neighbor who came to her aid,” the sheriff’s office said.
Open Questions
- What specific information led investigators to Harper?
- What was the motive for the murder of Pastor Hand?
