Gerrold Shropshire, 50, traveled to Atlanta in October 1998 to watch a Falcons game and was sharing a room at the Atlanta Hilton & Towers with colleague Ronnie Gutkowski, 51. They intended to meet business associate Phillip Dover, 31, who joined them. On Sunday, October 18, 1998, a maid found the three men stripped to their underwear and shot execution-style in the back of the head with a .45-caliber handgun. The victims appeared to have been forced to the floor and shot at point-blank range; wallets and identification were missing and investigators concluded the killings were planned rather than random.

The investigation connected Timothy Carl Dawson after his arrest in Memphis, where a .45-caliber pistol later confirmed as the murder weapon and the victims’ credit cards and IDs were found in his vehicle. Dawson was also tied to the similar killing of 19-year-old LaDarius Hawkins at a Days Inn in College Park a few days earlier. He was indicted on multiple counts including murder and armed robbery, tried with forensic and possession evidence presented by prosecutors, found guilty of the four murders, and in November 2002 sentenced to life without parole.

Are there readers who remember these Atlanta hotel slayings or have any additional information about the victims’ movements in the days before October 18, 1998?