Public Reporting Record
This page documents how the death of Beverly Kay Schappaugh was reported in newspapers and broadcast media between 1990 and 2006. Articles and reports are presented in chronological order. Sources and provenance are identified for each artifact.
Archival PDFs were obtained from the Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections through a formal research request completed in 2025. Each VSU-sourced PDF includes the full newspaper page, an article close-up, and a certification of authenticity from the VSU Archives. Family-preserved scans are used only where no institutional archival version exists. Archival verification was conducted through formal correspondence with VSU Archives and Special Collections in 2025.
“Lowndes Teacher Discovered Dead”
June 19, 1990
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF
A local primary school teacher was shot to death outside of the school where she was employed late Sunday night or early Monday morning, a Lowndes County sheriff’s department official said.
Beverly K. Schappaugh, 48, of Lowndes County was found dead from a single bullet wound to the left side of her chest, said Capt. Billy Selph of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department detective bureau.
She was found in a gray 1987 Nissan Sentra by a man walking his dog around 6:45 a.m. Monday, Selph said. The car was parked on the east corner of a field by the Pine Grove Primary School where Ms. Schappaugh was employed as a teacher for several years, he said.
A handgun, which appeared to be a .38 caliber pistol, was lying beside her in the passenger seat, Selph said.
The sheriff’s department report ruled the incident as a shooting death but Selph said Monday afternoon no final ruling has been made on the case.
“We don’t know what we’ve got yet,” he told The Valdosta Daily Times. “This may be a homicide. We’ll have to wait for a complete autopsy report before making a classification.”
Ms. Schappaugh’s body was sent to the state crime lab in Moultrie and is scheduled to be sent to Atlanta today for an autopsy.
Walter Wacter, Lowndes County coroner, told The Times his preliminary autopsy showed the victim died sometime between 5 p.m. Sunday to early Monday morning.
As for why Ms. Schappaugh was at the school, Selph said it is not uncommon for teachers to work on a Sunday.
“Lowndes Teacher Found Shot to Death”
June 19, 1990
Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville, Florida
From staff
Source: Family-preserved scan - original newspaper clipping. This report documents coverage of the case beyond the Valdosta regional press.
VALDOSTA, Ga. — Beverly Schappaugh, 48, a Lowndes County fourth-grade teacher, was found dead in her car yesterday with a bullet wound in the left side of her chest, police officials said.
Lying in the passenger seat next to her body was a .38-caliber pistol, Lowndes County Detective Capt. Billy Selph said.
Selph said the body was scheduled to be examined today at the State Crime Lab in Atlanta. “I really can’t tell you what we’ve got until we get the results of the reports from the crime lab,” he said.
Her late model Nissan was found parked near a wooded area on the northeast edge of the playground of the Pine Grove Elementary School where she worked, Selph said.
Selph said a man, who asked not to be identified, found the body about 7 a.m. while he was walking his dog.
School principal Bernard Perry said the last day of work for teachers was June 6, but he thought Ms. Schappaugh had returned to the school to begin preparation for next fall’s school year.
He said Ms. Schappaugh, who is divorced and has three adult children, had been seen in her classroom at the school Sunday afternoon.
Perry, who knew Ms. Schappaugh for more than 14 years, described her as being a thorough, caring teacher.
“The students really loved her, and some of the parents called me today and asked how they could tell their children that their teacher was dead,” Perry said.
Ms. Schappaugh had just completed her first year teaching at the Pine Grove Elementary School. Previously, she taught fourth-graders for nine years at the Hahira Elementary School, Perry said.
“Lowndes Teacher Is Found Dead”
June 19, 1990
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Atlanta, Georgia
By Robert Bohler, Special to the Journal-Constitution
Source: Family-preserved scan - original newspaper clipping photographed from Find a Grave memorial contribution. This report documents coverage of the case in the Atlanta regional press.
VALDOSTA — A Lowndes County elementary school teacher was found dead in her car early Monday morning on the grounds of the school where she works, and authorities have not yet decided whether she shot herself or was killed.
Beverly Kay Schappaugh, 48, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department investigators said Monday. Detective Capt. Billy Selph said a .38-caliber pistol with a spent cartridge was found on the front seat beside Ms. Schappaugh’s body.
Lowndes County Coroner Walter Wacter said no time of death has been established, and Captain Selph said he expects an autopsy today at the State Crime Lab in Atlanta and a further examination of evidence collected at the scene to provide some answers.
The body was discovered shortly before 7 a.m. Monday by a Moody Air Force Base serviceman who was walking his dog, Mr. Wacter said. The sergeant also had spotted Ms. Schappaugh’s gray late-model Nissan Sentra on the school grounds at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Mr. Wacter said.
Pine Grove Elementary School is about six miles north of Valdosta near Moody Air Force Base on Georgia 129.
“Gun Was Teacher’s”
June 21, 1990
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF. This edition includes the obituary.
A gun found beside the body of a Pine Grove Primary School fourth-grade teacher shot to death sometime late Sunday or early Monday belonged to the teacher, authorities said Wednesday.
Investigators are unsure how to rule the shooting death because of minor injuries found on Beverly K. Schappaugh’s body.
An autopsy report released late Tuesday from the Georgia State Crime Lab in Atlanta said Ms. Schappaugh, 48, of Valdosta, died of internal bleeding resulting from a single gunshot wound to her left breast area.
The gun causing the wound belonged to her, said Detective Capt. Billy W. Selph of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department.
When officials found Ms. Schappaugh dead at 6:45 a.m. Monday in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra, a .38-caliber handgun was lying in the passenger seat beside her, sheriff’s reports said. The car was parked in the eastern corner of Pine Grove Primary’s playground on Bemiss Road, the school where she taught and worked for the past year.
After the death was reported Monday by a man walking his dog, Selph said, investigators noticed Ms. Schappaugh had several minor injuries resembling bruises. Early autopsy reports by Dr. Gerald Gowitt at the Atlanta crime lab confirmed minor injuries, he said.
Selph would not specify the location of Ms. Schappaugh’s minor injuries, but said several more tests are being done at both the Atlanta and Moultrie state crime labs.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 333-5138.
Ms. Schappaugh is believed to have been working at the school Sunday afternoon. Pine Grove Primary Principal Bernard Perry said it is not uncommon for teachers to work on Sundays, especially Ms. Schappaugh.
“She was a very dedicated teacher who was enjoyed by her students, their parents and her fellow teachers,” he said. “Instead of going strictly by the books or curriculum, she had a different approach to teaching to get her students more involved.”
Perry cited as an example when Ms. Schappaugh’s class was studying a series of clown stories. Instead of merely reading the stories or assigning them, she dressed as a clown to make the content “life-like” for the students.
Ms. Schappaugh completed her first year of teaching at Pine Grove June 6, having taught at Hahira Elementary since the 1979-80 school year. She also taught a year in the Berrien County school system, Perry said.
View Full Edition Including Obituary →
Obituary - Beverly Kay Schappaugh
Valdosta Daily Times
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF. Obituary is included within this edition.
BEVERLY K. SCHAPPAUGH
Beverly Kay Schappaugh, 48, of Valdosta, died Sunday.
She was born in Roaring Springs, Penn., on Aug. 25, 1941, to John and Dorcas “Dee” Dexter. Ms. Schappaugh had lived in Lowndes County since 1973, was a fourth grade school teacher at Pine Grove Elementary School and was a volunteer worker for the Soup Kitchen.
She is survived by two sons, Paul Schappaugh of Valdosta and Mark Schappaugh of Atlanta; a daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie and Kenneth Marquis of Rota, Spain; her parents, John and Dorcas “Dee” Dexter of Crestview, Fla.; grandmother, Kathryn Helsel of Roaring Springs; and sisters, Johnna Smith of Chattanooga, Tenn., Elizabeth Williamson of Raleigh, N.C., and Karen Baker of Minneapolis, Minn.
Funeral services for Ms. Schappaugh will be held Friday at 4 p.m. in the chapel of the Carson McLane Funeral Home with Dr. Clyde Stokes, pastor of Greenwood Baptist Church, officiating. Interment will be at McLane’s Riverview Memorial Gardens.
The family will be receiving friends at the funeral home from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday.
Carson McLane Funeral Home is serving the Schappaugh family.
View Full Edition Including Obituary →
“Teacher’s Death Still Mystery”
June 23, 1990
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF
A Lowndes County teacher found shot to death earlier this week was buried Friday afternoon as sheriff’s officials continued their investigation into mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.
Beverly K. Schappaugh, 48, of Valdosta was found dead in her vehicle, parked in the playground beside her workplace Pine Grove Primary School, early Monday morning.
She died from internal bleeding caused by a single gunshot wound to the left breast area. A gun belonging to Ms. Schappaugh was found beside her in the car’s passenger seat however it has not yet been determined if this was the gun used in her death.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department officials are still attempting to determine the motive behind Ms. Schappaugh’s death.
Officials know she was shot sometime between 5 p.m. Sunday and early Monday morning.
They believe Ms. Schappaugh went to Pine Grove Primary to finish some school work that afternoon.
In addition to the fatal gunshot wound, there were several minor injuries on her body. According to reports from the Georgia State Crime Lab in Atlanta, she had a black eye, a bruise on one of her shoulders and both knees were scraped.
Lowndes County Sheriff G. Robert Carter said Friday the department’s detective bureau is investigating every angle of the shooting but would not comment on the case’s status.
Anyone in the vicinity of Pine Grove Primary on Bemiss Road from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning with any information regarding this case call 333-5138.
Colleagues and friends described Ms. Schappaugh as a dedicated teacher who worked in the Lowndes County school system since 1979. She was a teacher at Hahira Elementary from 1979-1989 and taught at Pine Grove Primary for the past year.
“Judge ‘Gags’ Death Probe”
June 30, 1990
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF
As speculation mounts about the shooting death of a local schoolteacher nearly two weeks ago, no one is talking. Officials are bound by a Lowndes County Superior Court gag order.
Superior Court Judge Arthur McLane issued the order Wednesday to halt the flow of information about the death of Beverly K. Schappaugh, 48, who was found shot to death in her car about 6:45 a.m. June 18.
McLane told The Valdosta Daily Times Friday the gag order is “not customary” in an ongoing investigation. When asked why it was issued, he said he could not answer without violating his own order.
State Attorney General Michael J. Bowers also said a gag order is not standard practice in an investigation but, “a judge can issue an order in the interest of serving justice.”
Bowers would not comment on this particular case.
Perry Michael, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, would only say “if a judge has issued it, it must be the law.”
Lowndes County Sheriff G. Robert Carter said under the order, neither he nor any of his detectives can comment on their investigation into the death.
Although autopsy reports released last week by the Georgia State Crime Laboratory in Atlanta show Ms. Schappaugh died of internal bleeding from a single gunshot wound in the area of her left breast, no death certificate has been issued, authorities say.
Ms. Schappaugh’s funeral was June 22, but the death certificate will not be issued until a cause of death has been determined, authorities say.
Officials have not said whether or not she was murdered. Found beside her, in the car’s passenger seat, was a .38-caliber pistol registered to Ms. Schappaugh.
Authorities are awaiting the results from ballistics tests to determine if it is the same weapon used in her death.
Ms. Schappaugh was found dead by a man walking his dog on June 18. She was in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra parked in the eastern corner of Pine Grove Primary School’s playground on Bemiss Road.
She worked at Pine Grove for one school year.
Crime lab autopsy reports also reveal that Ms. Schappaugh had several minor injuries, in addition to the gunshot wound, which included a black eye, a bruise on one shoulder and scrapes to both knees.
“Schoolteacher Found Slain”
August 16, 1990
Valdosta Daily Times - Crimebusters/A Weekly Look At Unsolved Crimes In Lowndes County
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF
Fourth-graders at Pine Grove Primary School were surprised when their teacher, Beverly K. Schappaugh, entered their classroom in the brightly colored costume of a clown.
Students were studying a series of clown stories, and instead of merely giving a reading assignment, Ms. Schappaugh added a dash of fun to the lesson. She wanted to make the series more “life-like.”
“A very dedicated teacher” is how Ms. Schappaugh’s colleagues described her. She was the type of teacher who worked extra hours during the weekends.
Quite often, she spent those hours in her Pine Grove Primary classroom, a few miles north of the Valdosta city limits off Bemiss Road.
Pine Grove Principal Bernard Perry said Ms. Schappaugh was probably working at the school on Sunday afternoon, June 17.
The next day when a man, while walking his dog, passed by the school at about 6:45 a.m., Ms. Schappaugh, 48, was lying in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra. There was a bullet wound in the left side of her chest. She already was dead.
Despite public interest in the case, local law enforcement officials remain stumped as to what exactly happened between the hours of that late Sunday night and early Monday morning.
At the end of June, Superior Court Judge Arthur McLane issued an unprecedented gag order to halt the flow of information on the case. With rumors and speculations abounding in the community, law enforcement officials can neither deny nor confirm many reports.
Nonetheless, some facts are known in the case.
When Ms. Schappaugh’s body was found, her car was parked in an eastern corner of Pine Grove’s playground. Next to her body, in the passenger seat, was a .38-caliber handgun.
The gun was registered under Ms. Schappaugh’s name, but forensic and ballistic reports were not complete before the gag order.
Autopsy reports from the Georgia State Crime Laboratory in Atlanta show Ms. Schappaugh died from internal bleeding caused by a single gunshot wound in the area of her left breast.
The autopsy also revealed several minor injuries to her body. She had a black eye, a bruise on one of her shoulders and both knees were scraped.
Before the gag order was imposed, authorities were holding her death certificate, saying it would not be issued until the cause of her death was determined.
Ms. Schappaugh was buried June 22.
She had just completed her first year teaching at Pine Grove Primary and was employed by the Lowndes County school system since 1979. She taught at Hahira Elementary School for 10 years.
Even though it is not customary to issue a gag order in a pending investigation, agreed State Attorney General Michael J. Bowers, he did say “a judge can issue an order in the interest of serving justice.”
Anyone with information about the death of Ms. Schappaugh is asked to contact local law enforcement authorities.
“Teacher’s Death: Murder”
September 14, 1990
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: Family-preserved scan - original physical newspaper page photographed and preserved by the family. This edition is not present in the Valdosta State University microfilm archive. VSU Archives staff confirmed the absence after multiple searches. No institutional explanation for the missing issue has been provided. This family scan is the sole known preserved copy of this edition.
Note: This edition reported the official ruling of Beverly Kay Schappaugh’s death as homicide, three months after her body was discovered.
Almost three months after a Lowndes County teacher was found shot to death in the playground of Pine Grove Primary School, local law enforcement officials have determined she was murdered.
And the victim’s father says the investigation may center on an “influential” person in the Valdosta community.
Lowndes County Sheriff G. Robert Carter said murder has been listed as the cause of death on Beverly Kay Schappaugh’s death certificate.
“We’ve been investigating this case all along as a possible homicide,” he said. “Now it’s official.”
Carter said his department has waited for forensics and ballistics reports from the Georgia State Crime Laboratory since the 48-year-old’s body was found in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra with a bullet wound to the left side of her chest on the morning of June 18.
Carter said a backlog of cases has slowed the crime lab’s routine during the past few months. But after a Sept. 7 meeting with Walter Wacter, Lowndes coroner, members of the Southern Judicial Circuit’s district attorney’s office and sheriff’s department investigators, Carter said homicide was the only possible conclusion.
Carter could not comment on possible suspects or how the investigation is progressing because of a gag order placed on the case in late June by Superior Court Judge Arthur McLane. Matters of public record, such as the death certificate, may be discussed, but the gag order prohibits officials from discussing other aspects of the case.
John Dexter of Clearview, Fla., who is Ms. Schappaugh’s father, is not bound by the gag order.
Dexter said Thursday during a telephone conversation with The Valdosta Daily Times: “I think they (the sheriff’s department) have done very well, but now I think they need to get on the stick, even if it does bring in an influential member of your (the Valdosta) community.”
He said, to his understanding, there is a possibility of two suspects, but he would not comment on their identities.
Dexter also disagreed with autopsy reports which stated his daughter suffered, in addition to the gunshot wound, only superficial injuries to her eye, shoulders and knees.
He said she was beaten so bad, her coffin was closed during her June 22 funeral. “Her face was so badly bruised, I would not have known her if I’d seen her on the street,” he said.
Ms. Schappaugh was a fourth grade teacher at Pine Grove Primary. A 10-year employee of the Lowndes County school system, it is believed she was finishing up some school work on the afternoon of Sunday, June 17.
About 6:45 a.m. the next day, a man walking his dog came across Ms. Schappaugh’s car parked in an eastern corner of Pine Grove’s playground. Inside the vehicle, Ms. Schappaugh was found dead. A .38-caliber handgun, registered in her name, lay next to her in the passenger seat. Despite the lack of ballistic reports, law officials believe her gun was used in the shooting.
So far, no arrests have been made in connection with the murder.
“We’ve known all along this has been a murder,” Dexter said. “Beverly’s mother and sisters have been very affected by this. Her mother will never be the same. It’s different for a man, but I’d rather not be living,” he said.
“If I had to go around now, it’s different.”
Authorities ask anyone with information about this case to contact the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department at 333-5138.
“Questions Remain Two Years After Teacher’s Death”
Undated - approximate 1992
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: Family-preserved scan. Archival version not located by VSU Archives staff.
Though it has been more than two years since the death of a Lowndes County grade school teacher, there are more questions than answers.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department authorities say the 1990 shooting death still is being investigated. But Detective Capt. Billy Selph said it’s been a long time since investigators have found any new clues or information in the case of Beverly K. Schappaugh.
“It’s still an active case,” Selph said last week, but no one has ever been charged after Ms. Schappaugh was found dead Monday, June 18, 1990, on the grounds of Pine Grove Primary School, where she worked.
She was a fourth-grade teacher and had just finished her first year there. The last sighting authorities have of her was at the school finishing up some work before the summer break.
One of her supervisors said it was quite common to see the 48-year-old teacher working on her days off and staying late after classes were finished.
Her colleagues described her as a “very dedicated teacher.”
Ms. Schappaugh was hired by the Lowndes County school system in 1979 and taught at Hahira Elementary School for 10 years before going to Pine Grove Primary.
On one occasion to teach a lesson, she dressed the part in costume. It was one of her efforts to get her students more involved.
At 6:45 a.m. June 18, a man walking his dog passed the school off Bemiss Road. He found Ms. Schappaugh lying in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra parked on the school playground area.
She was dead with a bullet wound in the left side of her chest.
Law officials have said they are not sure what happened between that Sunday evening and that Monday morning.
Her car was found in an eastern corner of Pine Grove’s playground. Next to her body, in the passenger seat, was a .38-caliber handgun.
She also had a black eye, a bruise on one of her shoulders and both knees were scraped. Her father, John Dexter of Clearview, Fla., said in a 1990 interview that the wounds were so bad that her coffin remained closed during her June 22 funeral.
“Her face was so badly bruised, I would not have known her if I’d seen her on the street,” Dexter said in 1990.
Dexter also said investigators told him they believe they know who killed his daughter.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt in my mind they know who did it,” he said, “but they just don’t have enough evidence.”
Detective Capt. Billy Selph said he could not comment specifically on what evidence exists because of the gag order.
“We’re still working on it - trying to get enough evidence to make an arrest,” Selph said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department Detective Division at 333-5138.
“Teacher’s Death Gets Another Look”
January 9, 1993
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: VSU Archives and Special Collections - certified archival PDF
An unsolved investigation into the June 1990 death of a Pine Grove Primary School teacher is intensifying, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said Friday.
Ultimately, Paulk hopes the investigation will lead to an arrest in the murder of Beverly K. Schappaugh, who was found shot to death in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra parked on the school’s property.
“The public had a lot of questions. It was a highly visible case and I promised during my campaign to look at it real hard,” Paulk told The Valdosta Daily Times.
“We hope to sit down with the two detectives who handled the case and see if there is anything that may have been overlooked. Or, possibly, get a new angle on it,” Paulk said.
A Lowndes County sheriff’s detective, Robert Atkins, will be assigned to the case full time in about a week.
“It’s not being critical of the previous administration,” Paulk said. “But I want to take another look at it.”
Ms. Schappaugh, 48, was last seen alive, working at Pine Grove Primary, on the Sunday afternoon of June 17, 1990.
At 6:45 a.m. June 18, a man walking his dog found Ms. Schappaugh lying dead in her car.
The Nissan Sentra was parked in the eastern corner of Pine Grove’s playground. Next to her body, in the passenger seat, was a .38-caliber handgun. It was registered under Ms. Schappaugh’s name.
A bullet wound in the left side of her chest was the cause of death, according to Georgia State Crime Lab autopsy reports. The autopsy reports also revealed she suffered a black eye, a bruise on one of her shoulders and both of her knees were scraped.
Though she was buried on June 22, 1990, it would be several months before authorities ruled her death a homicide.
At the time of her death, Ms. Schappaugh, described by colleagues as a “very dedicated teacher” had just completed her first year teaching at Pine Grove Primary, located off Bemiss Road. She had been employed by the Lowndes County school system since 1979, teaching at Hahira Elementary School for 10 years.
“Reward Offered In Murder Case”
Undated - approximate 1993
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: Family-preserved scan. Archival version not located by VSU Archives staff.
A $2,500 reward is being offered in the 1990 murder case of Beverly K. Schappaugh, a Lowndes County school teacher found shot to death in her car.
On Friday, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk offered the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Ms. Schappaugh’s death on Sunday, June 17, 1990.
On June 18, 1990, she was found dead in her gray, 1987 Nissan Sentra parked in Pine Grove Primary School’s playground.
Paulk is offering the money out of his own pocket, but the sheriff’s department is applying for a governor’s reward grant to cover the amount, authorities said.
Several witnesses say they saw Ms. Schappaugh, 48, of Valdosta working at Pine Grove Primary, off Bemiss Road, that Sunday.
Authorities recently acquired new leads in the investigation - leads suggesting other people were at the playground that day who may have seen Ms. Schappaugh with someone or have other important information, Paulk said.
“A small piece of this puzzle is missing that can result in the case being solved and in collection of the reward,” Paulk said.
Apparently, Ms. Schappaugh was beaten, then shot that day, authorities say.
At 6:46 a.m. on June 18, a man walking his dog found Ms. Schappaugh lying dead in her car. Her Nissan Sentra was parked in the eastern corner of Pine Grove’s playground. Next to her body, in the passenger’s seat, was a .38-caliber handgun.
Autopsy reports showed she died of a single gunshot wound to the left side of her chest. Ballistic tests conducted at the State Crime Lab in Atlanta confirmed the handgun fired the fatal shot, authorities said.
Though she was buried on June 22, 1990, it would be several months before authorities ruled her death a homicide. Since then, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department detectives have put many man-hours into the case, said Detective Capt. Billy Selph.
In January, Paulk intensified the investigation by assigning a detective to the case fulltime.
At the time of her death, Ms. Schappaugh had just completed her first year of teaching at Pine Grove Primary. Colleagues described her as a “dedicated teacher.”
She had been employed by the Lowndes County school system since 1979, teaching at Hahira Elementary School her first 10 years.
Anyone with information regarding this case may call the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department Detective Division at (912) 333-5138.
Photo caption: This June 1990 photo, as taken by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, shows the scene where Beverly K. Schappaugh was found dead in her 1987 Nissan Sentra. $2,500 reward is now being offered for information relating to the teacher’s death.
“Petition seeks justice for unsolved murder case”
Saturday, February 26, 1994
Valdosta Daily Times
By Dean Poling, Times Staff Writer
Source: Original clipping from family archive. VSU Archives was not consulted for this date. February 26, 1994 was outside the scope of the original microfilm research request.
Petition seeks justice for unsolved murder case
By DEAN POLING
Times Staff WriterVALDOSTA — It’s been nearly four years since Beverly K. Schappaugh, a Lowndes County school teacher, was found shot to death in her car. And Kimberly Tyson, a family friend of the Schappaughs, says she is furious there has been no arrest in the case.
Frustration and anger have led Ms. Tyson to circulate a petition throughout the region - a petition demanding justice.
“I feel like not enough has been done to solve her murder, and I hope new information will come forth with the petition,” she said Friday.
The petition reads: “Help Us Fight! …We being people who feel that justice must be served and that the guilty must be punished. Beverly Schappaugh, a teacher who taught hundreds of children in our area, was murdered in the woods by Pine Grove Elementary. The murder has not been solved! We demand justice!”
In its first day of circulation Friday, Ms. Tyson said she collected about 100 names. She said many signers were surprised by the petition, and she was surprised by the signers’ initial reaction.
“… A lot of people thought this case had already been solved,” she said. “If nothing else the petition may serve as a reminder that it has not.”
The Valdosta Daily Times asked
See PETITION, Page 2-AIt was early Monday morning, June 18, 1990, when Beverly K. Schappaugh was found dead in her gray 1987 Nissan Sentra parked on the playground of Pine Grove Primary School. An autopsy showed she died of a single gunshot wound to the left side of her chest; a .38-caliber handgun was found in the passenger seat next to her body. She’d also been badly beaten.
Sunday afternoon, June 17, 1990, the Lowndes County school system teacher was seen at Pine Grove doing end-of-the-school-year work.
But it would be several months after her death before authorities ruled the shooting a homicide.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department detectives have been working the case since her body was found that early June morning.
Lowndes authorities were unavailable to comment on the case or the petition Friday. But in the past, their goal has been to figure out what happened between that Sunday afternoon and when the body was found.
Last April, Lowndes Sheriff Ashley Paulk offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. But there has never been enough information or evidence to surface to bring about an arrest.
Petition
From Page 1-AValdosta Police Detective Lt. Earl Spurlock to comment on unsolved murder cases in general from a law-enforcement standpoint. In these responses, Spurlock is not commenting on the Schappaugh case, and with this case being in the county, it is not in the city police department’s jurisdiction.
“In an unsolved murder case, a detective may have a good idea of who did it,” Spurlock said. “But you have to prove your case with evidence or witnesses.”
He also said if a suspect is prematurely charged with a murder and it goes to court without enough evidence for a jury to convict, then that’s it. If new evidence surfaces later or new evidence points to someone else, it’s too late - the case is usually considered closed.
“You’d better have your ducks in a row before taking it to court.”
One boon to an unsolved murder case is that there is no statute of limitations. An unsolved murder case is never considered closed, the detective said.
Even if new information surfaces 10 or more years later, law-enforcement can still make an arrest and take the case to trial.
However, the longer a case remains unsolved the tougher it is to put all of the pieces together, Spurlock said. But law-enforcement agencies never stop investigating the unsolved cases.
Referring to one of the city’s unsolved murder cases, Spurlock said “that has really drove us up the wall. Every time a piece of new information comes in, it’s checked out. But we still haven’t got enough pieces to put it all together.
“…Nothing frustrates an investigator more than an unsolved murder.”
Anyone with information on the Schappaugh case should call the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department Detective Division at 333-5138.
“Valdosta Murder Unsolved”
June 21, 2006
Waycross Journal-Herald - Waycross, Georgia
Source: Waycross Journal-Herald, June 21, 2006 - family-preserved copy
Note: This letter was submitted to multiple media outlets on the sixteenth anniversary of Beverly Kay Schappaugh’s murder. The Waycross Journal-Herald was the only publication that printed it.
EDITOR, Journal-Herald:
On this the sixteenth anniversary of our mother’s (Beverly Schappaugh) murder in Valdosta, Ga., we are submitting this letter as notice of our family’s dissatisfaction with the progress of the murder investigation. We also question the Valdosta Daily Times’ lack of coverage of this unsolved murder case.
It would appear that local law enforcement agencies, along with the district attorney and state agencies, have long ago concluded they have insufficient evidence to prosecute this murder investigation, while having amassed a wealth of damning evidence to suggest probable cause against at least one individual.
While we understand the state’s hesitation to prosecute this case with the information and case evidence on-hand, we cannot understand why the local and regional press continues to ignore this unsolved murder in Lowndes County.
We encouraged and were excited by the campaign of Sheriff Pro-Tem Paulk back in the early 90s; but once he was elected he relegated our mother’s murder to the back burner. If you remember, one of his campaign promises was to resolve and find the culprit responsible for our mother’s murder.
Since his time in office Sheriff Paulk has ignored his campaign promise to resolve this heinous crime against a Lowndes County teacher. Our family hopes that local law enforcement and state agencies will not forget our mother’s death and will do everything in their power to prosecute those responsible.
Paul Gregory Schappaugh
Mark S. Schappaugh
Stephanie Schappaugh-Howell
Houston, Texas
Note: The Waycross Journal-Herald printed a single address for all three signatories. At the time of publication, Paul Gregory Schappaugh resided in Houston, Texas; Mark S. Schappaugh resided in Atlanta, Georgia; and Stephanie Schappaugh-Howell resided in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
“Georgia Family Still Hopes for Closure”
June 22, 2006
WALB News 10 - Albany/Valdosta, Georgia
Reporter: Alicia Eakin
Source: WALB News 10 website, June 22, 2006 - family-preserved copy. This is a printout of the web article from walb.com summarizing the broadcast report aired by WALB News 10 on the sixteenth anniversary of Beverly Kay Schappaugh’s murder. The original article remains available at https://www.walb.com/story/5066603/georgia-family-still-hopes-for-closure/. This preserved copy is retained should the URL be removed in the future.
Lowndes County - The shooting death of a Lowndes County school teacher remains unsolved after nearly two decades. In June of 1990, Beverly Schappaugh was found dead in her car outside the Pine Grove Primary School where she taught fourth grade.
The case remains open and under a gag order, as investigators are hoping to obtain more information in the future. “We don’t want to close out a case and then evidence comes up 10 years from now that could possibly be something that we missed, never knew about, or wasn’t available to us at the time where we could convict someone in the case. We want that opportunity,” said Captain J.D. Yeager of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department.
Family members and friends are urging Lowndes County Law Enforcement Agencies and State agencies to not forget Ms. Schappaugh’s death and to continue the investigation.