Page 7A
January 9, 2019
,R orter
Continued from Front
parked in an abandoned
Mexican restaurant, and
while still in the driver's
seat, put a 12-gauge shot-
gun barrel into his mouth
or neck and finished offan
awful, bloody da)
Freeman said he knew
Taylor, who had done good
construction work for his
family, and had just seen
him at City Barber Shop in
December. Taylor moved
to Monroe County from
the Henry County area
many years ago backed
by Stringer Lumber Co.
in McDonough to build
homes in the county,
including the newer part
of Forsyth's Betsy Lynn
subdivision.
More recently, Taylor had
focused almost exclusively
on repairs and renovations
of existing homes, includ-
ing a lot of work for local
realtor Connie Ham, and
her daughters Kerri Swear-
ingen and Chrissy Dono-
van. Taylor had had a lease-
purchase on a home Ham
owned at 47 Joe Chambers
Road since 2007, the home
he burned to the ground on
Friday.
Donovan choked back
tears, telling the Reporter
they were shocked by Fri-
day's news and have been
asking themselves if they
could've done something
to help Taylor and avoid a
tragedy.
"We've really struggled
with it;' said Donovan.
"It's horrible. Horrible."
added her sister Kerri
Swearingen.
Swearingen said Taylor
was a very hard worker of
the old-school, rising early
and doing exactly what he
said he would do. He had
three grown children from
a previous marriage, all of
whom live in the Atlanta
area. His daughter, Melanie,
also worked for Ham in the
early 2000s before becom-
ing a nurse. He also liked to
keep horses, chickens and
dogs on his proper .
Swearingen said Tay-
lor was also an involved
step-dad; when his step-
son Colton was in school
struggling with a learning
disability, it was Taylor who
inquired about getting him
some tutoring.
But over the last 18
months, Taylor had suf-
fered a detached retina
in his left eye, undergo-
ing several surgeries and
wearing an eyepatch. Yet he
continued to work, and of-
ten helped people without
compensation. Donovan
recalled an unwed mother
expecting her second child
who badly needed repairs
to her home in November.
Taylor did them for free,
said Donovan.
"He was very kind," said
Donovan.
Donovan said Taylor ate
breakfast every morning at
the Ingles deli, where the
workers loved him.
But, she added, he was
also a man's man, one who
didn't share much about his
feelings or his personal life.
Friday's tragedy brings to
mind other recent suicides
in Forsyth by men near
Taylor's age who may have
feared they could no longer
provide for their families.
Whatever was going
through Taylor's mind, Inv.
Chris Landers said after
talking to neighbors, they
have reason to think Taylor
may have begun his killing
spree as early as 4 a.m.
Monroe County firefight-
ers got the call about the
fire at 47 Chambers Road
at 7:32 a.m. and immedi-
ately were suspicious after
finding gas cans near the
front door. With gas fuelilag
the blaze, the home was
soon fully involved and it
took a while for firefighters
to find the bodies, which
were unrecognizable and
sent to the GBI crime lab,
i long with Mike Taylor's
body. The GBI on Tuesday
confirmed the identity of
Alicia Taylor's body, but
needed further testing to
confirm King's body. Still,
Freeman said they're 99.9
percent sure it's his, and
of what happened. What
neither the GBI nor anyone
else seems to be able to say
for certain is why.
Donovan said a memorial
service for Mike Taylor will
be held Saturday in Hamp-
ton. Arrangements for
Alicia Taylor and Colton
King were not known at
press time.
ABOVE: Butts
County depu-
ties examine
the scene in
Flovilla around
the white truck
of builder Mike
Taylor, where
he is thought to
have ended his
life on Friday.
LEFT: Firefight-
ers found two
bodies in the
home on Friday.
(Photos/Richard
Dumas and
MCES)
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF FORSYTH WITH REGARD TO A PETITION OF NORFOLK SOUTHERN
CORPORATION REQUESTING AN ORDER TO ELIMINATE HIGHWAY-RAIL
GRADE CROSSING NUMBER DOT #718 329Y LOCATED IN THE CITY OF
FORSYTH PURSUANT TO O.C.G.A. 32-6-193.1.
The Mayor and Council of the City of Forsyth, as the local governing authority with regard to a petition
by Norfolk Southern Corporation requesting an order to eliminate Highway-Rail Grade Crossing No.
DOT#178 329Y, will pursuant to O.C.G.A. 32-6-193.1(b)(3) conduct a public hearing on the matter prior
to deciding whether to grant or deny the petition.
The public hearing will be held on January 22, 2019, at 5:30 PM, or as soon thereafter as the matter may be
reached, at Alderman Hall at 5 West Adams Street in the City of Forsyth, Georgia.
A copy of the petition and attachments as submitted to the City of Forsyth dated November 9, 2018, is avail-
able for inspection at the office of the City Clerk of the City of Forsyth during regular business hours.
Mayor and Council of the City of Forsyth
Register for Grand Prizel FREE clothes
every month for a ),earl Register this
Thursday, Friday & Saturday.
Thursday, January lOth
thru Saturday, January 12th
