Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, GETTR, Truth Social, X, Youtube, Instagram
After nearly 10 months, an 18-year-old Savannah man stabbed to death at a local Walmart is still waiting for the government to officially acknowledge he is dead. Jeffrey Thomas Schroeder III, known as J.T., was stabbed to death at the Whitemarsh Island Walmart on Highway 80 in October of 2025. Chatham County Police Department charged 48-year-old Delano Middleton with his murder.
An 18-year-old Savannah man was stabbed to death at a local Walmart on October 23, 2025 by a man who had previously been charged with stabbing a woman at a U-Haul location in 2021. He was on probation at the time of the attack. Jeffrey Thomas Schroeder III, known as J.T., was stabbed multiple times in the neck. He died from his injuries four days later.
In addition to the physical evidence being destroyed, the system failed his family in another, more profound way. J.T.'s body was released to a funeral home before an autopsy could be conducted. According to holds placed by both the Chatham County Coroner's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Schroeder's body was supposed to be held for further investigation — but it was not. Instead, it was cremated.
Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones was direct. In her December 2025 statement she said: "The release of JT Schroeder's body was not a 'miscommunication'. It was oversight, failure and professional negligence. This is a serious failure so egregious; it is hard to believe it was not intentional. The person or persons responsible for the premature release of JT Schroeder's body could be charged with a felony."
Now, according to Georgia advocate Holly Kesler, the Chatham County Coroner refuses to issue a death certificate for Schroeder because no autopsy has been conducted. As reported by Kesler on August 20, 2026, the family continues to fight for justice ten months after J.T.'s murder. Medical records, police reports, video surveillance, and witness statements have not been enough to secure one simple piece of paper — a death certificate — officially acknowledging that their son is gone.
J.T.'s father is still demanding accountability. He wrote a letter to Governor Brian Kemp and to President Trump on August 18. According to Kesler, Lt. Governor Burt Jones has been briefed on the case. J.T.'s killer, Delano Middleton, has pleaded not guilty and has a trial date set for May 2026.
Mayor Johnson's animal farm in Savannah loves surveillance and homeless, but is not so concerned about the safety of its citizens.
The Georgia Record will continue to follow this story.
https://twitter.com/HollyKesler/status/2090445194520850796
Get the latest on Georgia delivered straight to your mailbox.
