Hall County Sheriff's Office
The driver said he didn't realize he just drove the murder suspect until a friend called and said, "A guy in Rabun County murdered someone last night and has their head."
This sounds like something straight out of an urban legend.
A man in Georgia was driving with his son earlier this week when they decided to pick up a hitchhiker -- a hitchhiker they say was also a murder suspect possibly carrying the victim's severed head on him during the ride.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the scary saga began Sunday, August 6, when the GBI was asked by Rabun County Sheriff's Office to assist in a murder investigation. The Sheriff's Office had already received information that a man killed someone and disposed of their body, which deputies found on Monday in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.
By Tuesday, local and state officials announced they were looking for Keegan Phillips, 23, in connection with the murder. He was described as having blue eyes, brown hair and appearing "disheveled and dirty."
Russell Jimmerson clearly hadn't heard any of this and didn't think twice about picking up a stranger on the side of the road that same day. "He just stuck his hand out, just very quickly. I told my son, 'Let's get him.' I help everybody," Jimmerson told WXIA. “He'd been up all night, walking from Rabun County.”
He noticed the man had a backpack and recalled a strong odor coming from him. Jimmerson dropped the man off, claiming he found out later the guy they'd given a ride to was also the subject of a manhunt in a murder case.
"You won't believe what happened," said his friend. "A guy in Rabun County murdered someone last night and has their head. And I said, 'Man, you won't believe what I'm fixing to tell you. There's a smell in this car that's awful.'"
"My buddy said, 'Is this a joke? Did you pick up the hitchhiker?' I said, 'No, I really did,'" said Jimmerson.
Rabun County Sheriff's Office
So far, authorities haven't officially revealed any additional details about state of the body, including whether there was a severed head, as Jimmerson's friend suggested. They also have not confirmed whether the man Jimmerson picked up was indeed Phillipps, who was arrested later in the day on Tuesday and charged with murder.
62-year-old Robert Lee Peppers (above left) was also arrested and charged with concealing a death and unlawful disposal of a body. The GBI says the investigation is ongoing.
The Rabun County Sheriff's Office believes the victim is Angela Ledford, who was previously reported missing -- though they are waiting for the remains to be positively identified by the GBI Crime Lab.
