Antwone Shalmar Lay, 29, of Athens, Georgia, was found fatally shot in the parking lot of Antioch United Methodist Church near Antioch Church Road and Gus Barnett Road in Nicholson, Jackson County, in the summer of 2024. Investigators say he was picked up in the Nellie B neighborhood of Athens and driven to the church lot before the shooting.

Authorities determined the motive to be robbery, with perpetrators targeting Lay for Percocet pills and marijuana. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took the lead on the inquiry at the request of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Two men were arrested: 31-year-old William Austin of Jefferson, charged with murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and later additional counts after material from his phone was reviewed; and 37-year-old Delvin Duran Buckles, arrested at Clarke Gardens and booked on murder and related felony charges. The Piedmont Judicial Circuit is handling prosecution.

If anyone has information about Lay’s final movements or witnessed activity around the church parking lot that summer, please come forward.