Wmaz: GBI homicide-suicide probe in Eastman points to a steady investigative path

wmaz is tracking a Georgia Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the shooting deaths of two Eastman men after Dodge County deputies responded Tuesday to a home on the 3400 block of Eastman Dublin Highway. Investigators have described the case as an apparent homicide-suicide, and the next visible steps in the process run through autopsies at the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office and a final case file review by the Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation details the Eastman Dublin Highway scene

What is confirmed so far is tightly defined by the initial law enforcement timeline. Dodge County deputies responded Tuesday to a home on the 3400 block of Eastman Dublin Highway in Eastman. Inside the home, deputies found 48-year-old Johnathan Lee Groves with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Preliminary investigative findings indicate Groves was shot by 60-year-old Rex Willis Giddens of Eastman. After the initial response at the home, law enforcement later found Giddens in the woods near the residence. He was suffering from what investigators described as an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and he was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Both accounts of the incident align on the essential elements: the location on Eastman Dublin Highway, the identities and ages of the two men, the sequence of discovery, and the conclusion that the second death was consistent with a self-inflicted wound. What remains open at this stage is not whether there is an investigation, but what additional findings will be established through formal medical and investigative steps.

Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office becomes the next milestone

The investigative pathway described by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation points to a structured handoff process. The bodies of both Groves and Giddens are expected to be taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsies. That step signals that the cause and manner of death will be documented through the official forensic process, rather than left solely to preliminary on-scene assessments.

After the GBI completes its investigation, the case will be given to the Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review. That transfer is a concrete next milestone because it defines how the inquiry will be closed out administratively: the investigative agency completes its work, then prosecutorial review follows. For now, the direction of travel is procedural and evidence-driven, moving from early findings to autopsy results and then to a final review stage.

Based on the information released so far, the trend is toward consolidation of facts in a single case file. A Dodge County Sheriff’s Office request brought the GBI into the case, and a news release issued Wednesday reflected that coordination. Those signals suggest a continued emphasis on documenting the record clearly, even in a case described as an apparent homicide-suicide.

Wmaz watchpoints: tips, autopsies, and what the GBI has not resolved

wmaz coverage will likely hinge on two near-term signals already identified by investigators: the autopsies and the completion of the GBI investigation for district attorney review. The GBI has also asked the public for information, directing anyone with relevant details to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Eastman at 478-374-6988. A second contact option provided was an anonymous tip line at 1-800-597-TIPS.

• Based on context data: Deputies responded Tuesday to the 3400 block of Eastman Dublin Highway in Eastman.
• Based on context data: 48-year-old Johnathan Lee Groves was found with a gunshot wound and pronounced dead at the scene.
• Based on context data: Preliminary findings indicate Groves was shot by 60-year-old Rex Willis Giddens.
• Based on context data: Giddens was later found in the woods near the home with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and pronounced dead at the scene.
• Based on context data: Autopsies are to be conducted at the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office.
• Based on context data: The completed investigation will be submitted to the Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

If the current investigative trajectory continues… the next substantive public developments would center on confirmation from the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office autopsies and the GBI’s statement that the investigation has reached completion and been forwarded for review. That sequence is explicitly laid out as the process endpoint, and it would formalize the preliminary findings already described.

Should new information arrive through the tip channels… the GBI’s “ongoing” status suggests it could incorporate additional leads while the case file is still being built. The context does not resolve what evidence has been collected beyond the preliminary findings, nor does it specify a time frame for autopsies or for submission to the district attorney’s office. Still, the confirmed next milestones are clear: autopsies first, then the investigative handoff for review.