ATLANTA — Families in Cobb County anxious about the mysterious killings at an upscale Kennesaw golf course can breathe a sigh of relief. After five days with few developments in the unusual case, a man suspected in the three deaths was captured Thursday afternoon.
Bryan Rhoden was taken into custody in DeKalb County, more than 25 miles from Pinetree Country Club where golf pro Gene Siller, 46, was shot dead Saturday afternoon, according to Cobb officials. Rhoden was arrested around 5:15 p.m. at Chamblee police headquarters, according to Eric Heinze, deputy commander of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Southeast Regional fugitive task force.
The Chamblee Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service were each involved in Rhoden’s capture, officials said. Rhoden was unarmed and arrested without incident in the course of the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office. He did not turn himself in.
Police believe Siller was not targeted but was shot when he went to investigate a white Dodge Ram pickup truck that had driven onto the golf course’s 10th hole Saturday afternoon. In the bed of the truck, investigators found the bodies of two other men, police said.
Those men were later identified as Henry Valdez, 46, of Anaheim, California, and Paul Pierson, 76, of Topeka, Kansas, who owned the truck, according to Cobb officials. The men appeared to have no connection to the country club.
The brazen killing of Siller on the golf course shocked a Kennesaw community that prides itself on being one of the safest towns in the United States. Cobb residents were further unnerved as authorities provided few answers or updates on the case in the ensuing five days.
Authorities think Siller may have “happened upon a crime in progress” and was “killed because he witnessed an active crime taking place.”
Immediately after his arrest, Rhoden was being interviewed by Cobb police, officials said. No further information has been released about Rhoden’s identity or the circumstances of his capture.
