On Monday, July 11, 2022, Charles Madison Barnett, 75, and his life partner, 73-year-old Virginia D. Thomas, were found dead in their Waycross, Georgia, home by a relative who called law enforcement. Deputies from the Ware County Sheriff’s Office discovered both in bed with what appeared to be fatal gunshot wounds; the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to lead the death investigation.

Barnett, a lifelong Ware County resident and a former floor covering installer, was remembered for gardening and fishing and for the affectionate relationship he shared with Thomas. Within a day investigators arrested Bernard Rittenhouse, 55, Thomas’s son, and the next day his wife, 53-year-old Janet Rittenhouse, was also taken into custody. Bernard was charged with two counts of felony murder and one count of burglary; Janet was charged with two counts of felony murder and one count of party to the crime of burglary. No motive has been released.

Did anyone in the area know Charles or Virginia, or have information about their final days?