Crime Solvers Central
Crime Solvers Central
302 Cases Solved. Advancing justice for missing persons, unsolved homicides, unidentified and unclaimed remains.

Forum Posts for Danny Daniels:
Be respectful. Abuse of these forums will not be tolerated.

On the morning of December 4, 1997, Danny Daniels, 47, was found shot to death in his home in Santa Claus, Georgia. His wife Kim and two children, 16-year-old Jessica and 8-year-old Bryant, were also found dead; authorities determined all four had been attacked with a shotgun while they slept. The family had been longtime foster parents in the community.

Three other children from the home were found abandoned but unharmed miles away; their statements led investigators to 20-year-old Jerry Scott Heidler, who was known to the Daniels family because his sister had been a former foster child there. Heidler was arrested about seven hours after the bodies were discovered and charged with multiple counts including malice murder, kidnapping, and burglary. Investigators reported linking a fingerprint on a bathroom window and DNA from a cigarette butt to Heidler, and he reportedly confessed, saying he took a Remington 1100 semi-automatic shotgun from the Daniels gun cabinet and discarded it in a river.

The grand jury later indicted Heidler on murder, kidnapping, and child molestation counts, and he faced the death penalty. Does anyone have additional details about the Daniels family or the events that morning that could help document what happened?