James Lawrence III arrested in 1998 Georgia cold case murder

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has arrested 47-year-old James Lawrence III in connection with the 1998 murder of Christy Dawn Myers. Lawrence, of Irwin County, faces charges of felony murder, malice murder, and aggravated assault.

Myers, who was 20 years old at the time, was found with multiple stab wounds near her vehicle on the Broxton-Fitzgerald Highway in Coffee County on September 15, 1998. The case remained unsolved for nearly 28 years until continued testing of forensic evidence identified Lawrence as a suspect.

Lawrence was taken into custody on October 1, 2026, with assistance from the Irwin County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation is ongoing, and the case file will be transferred to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Chelsea Wolfe, the daughter of Myers, expressed that while the arrest provides some closure, the family remains focused on justice.