Assault at 200 BLOCK OF WATSON STREET NE on 07/31/2026 11:05 PM

Name

Roy Laney

Missing Age

45

Est. Current Age

91

Last Seen

Buford, GA on 07/11/1980

Physical Description

Race: White Ethnicity: Caucasian Gender: Male Hair: Brown Eyes: Hazel Height: 5' 7" - 5' 9" Weight: 130 - 140 lbs

Case Number

MP103517

Name

Melissa Wideman

Age

20

Cause of Death

Gun/Firearm

Info

On friday, march 22, 2002, at approximately 3:25 a.M., a passing truck driver observed a residential fire at the wideman home, 13875 highway 112 east, rebecca , ga and notified authorities. The turner county volunteer fire department responded. Firefighters found the one-story home fully involved and sustaining significant damage. The roof collapsed within minutes after firefighters arrived. Wideman family vehicles were present; however, none of the widemans could be located. When the fire was extinguished, the badly-burned bodies of tommy joe wideman, age 51, deborah ann wideman, age 48, and their eight months pregnant daughter melissa ann wideman, age 20, were found. Tommy joe was the chief tax assessor for turner county . Deborah owned a bridal shop, the oak tree, in downtown ashburn, and melissa was a student. Autopsies revealed each had been shot to death prior to the fire, which was determined to be the result of arson. The widemans did not socialize much and had limited contact with area relatives. All valuable items appeared to be in appropriate places, indicating robbery was an unlikely motive for these crimes. No eyewitnesses have been identified, nor have any suspected murder weapons been located. Investigators are seeking any information from the public that may help solve this case. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the gbi regional office in perry at 478-987-4545 or the gbi tip line at 1-800-597-tips.

Agency

Georgia Bureau of Investigation