A Georgia man killed a teenager, then turned himself in 15 years later. Now, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A Bartow Superior Court judge sentenced Shannon Vashawn Tapley, 43, to life in prison for the brutal murder of 19-year-old Lance Jay Banister. Tapley pleaded not guilty to malice murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and concealing the death of another.
On March 4, around 9 p.m., the defendant walked into the Bartow County jail and told an officer on duty he wanted to confess to a 2008 cold case murder. Soon, officers searched for the victim’s name in their old database platform, where they found Banister had been reported missing from his residence along Dawns Way, off Glade Road north of Acworth, on March 18, 2008.
The case stemmed from a missing report made by the victim’s mother, who told authorities she had not seen her son since three days prior. A further search of the Georgia Crime Information Center showed the victim was no longer considered a missing person on the platform. Then, investigators found a 2008 obituary of the victim after fishermen found Banister's body three weeks after he was reported missing, close to the Talking Rock Bridge near State Route 136 in Carters Lake in Murray County.
Tapley was arrested a day after his confession.
According to Coosa Valley News, Tapley had intentionally strangled the teenager before stabbing him multiple times and slicing his throat along Pine Log Road near U.S. 411 in the Rydal area.
The motive for the killing remains unclear.
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