Georgia film crew exploring Haleyville murder case

HALEYVILLE -- A Georgia-based film crew will be in Winston County this weekend looking into a five-year-old murder case.

Bridget Snapp, an attorney who works for Georgia Public Broadcasting, took an interest in the case after hearing a Haleyville resident talk about it during a seminar in Atlanta.

Snapp hopes her visit will spark a renewed interest in the 2001 deaths of an elderly couple and the disappearance of another man.

Police said Elmer and Joette Thrasher were killed in their home in the Forkville community in December 2001. A few days earlier, a Haleyville man, Randy Whitfield, was reported missing.

Haleyville Police Chief Kyle Reogas said Whitfield and the Thrashers had some common acquaintances, but there is no proof that the cases are connected.

Snapp will be filming a five-minute clip on the case and could eventually produce a segment up to 15 or 30 minutes. After talking with members of the both families this weekend, the video will be submitted to television programs such as "Dateline NBC" and "America's Most Wanted."

"There are a lot of cases in small towns like this that become stagnant," Snapp said. "I hope that this will stir more interest from local officials to reopen the cases."

Snapp said family members believe both cases are related.

"I think the community has a concern to see these cases solved and the best-case scenario is that local interest will be sparked again," she said.

Reogas sent a letter to the television program, "America's Most Wanted," about the case and asked for support from the attorney general's office.

"The attorney general sent me a letter saying that he supported it," Reogas said.

Snapp does not know if her segment will be picked up by any of the national shows, but after a two-month editing process, she will send the segment out and see.

"Even if they don't use what we do, maybe they will do something on their own that will help solve these cases," she said.

Jonathan Willis can be reached at 332-0140 or jonathan.willis@timesdaily.com.