Five Arrested in Georgia in ‘Heinous’ 1983 Killing of Black Man | The New York Times

[dropcap]The[/dropcap] authorities in Georgia have reopened a cold case and arrested five people — including two law enforcement officials — in connection with what the local sheriff said was a brutal, racially motivated murder of a black man 34 years ago.

The arrests were made on Friday, about seven months after new information emerged, said the sheriff, Darrell Dix of Spalding County, in Griffin, Ga., about 40 miles south of Atlanta. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

“If the crime happened today, it would be prosecuted as a hate crime,” he said at a news conference on Friday.

The body of Timothy Coggins, 23, was found abandoned in a grassy roadside area of Sunny Side, Ga., on Oct. 9, 1983, the sheriff said. He said his office conducted an exhaustive investigation at the time but the case had gone cold until March, when new evidence surfaced.

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The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become charter members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (Website).

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