Murder in Seagrove

I don't know about you but personally I don't care about anything that comes out of his Mother's mouth. No she is not responsible for what her son did. But saying things like, he seemed emotionally abused, and was a special needs student, and that he was high on drugs and does not remember, is making excuses for his murdering that child. This community is still in shock over the murder and now is not the time for his mother to talk about her poor kids problems. It makes me sick!

Some of what she said jibes with what I was hearing when it was first happened, but I am definitely calling BS on some of it.

Test results, evidence, and testimony will tell us the real story some day.

There's only one real victim in all this, and she was just laid to rest decades too early.

I rarely if ever post forum messages on anything but...
"...This mess"? You must be kidding!! You've had the opportunity to question your son and see his face twice since this horrible tragedy occured. The Wilkes family will never be given the same blessing. To state how special needs/outcast he was is intolerable. Being special needs does not condone what he has done. Which, as a longtime visitor, I know Steven personally. He was forever hitting on young women of an appropriate age, and Mrs. Ellis was constantly kicking him out of her home. Tough decision?? One you seemingly done repeatedly. Only this time you woke up to a "mess". Woe is me. It makes me sick that one sentence in this post was dedicated to the Wilkes. Finally, I am not the person to say I saw this coming. I never dreamed this. I am still in shock and heartbroken for the Wilkes family. But for Mrs. Ellis to make her entire public response about Steven and to insinuate this was the first time he had been homeless and how poor woe is me he was is disgusting!

I'm not about to condemn a mother. I'm a mother too. I have a son that's 21. I didn't give birth to him but i'm his mom, nonetheless. A 'mother' who spent the 1st 3 years with her son and hasn't seen him since until 3 years ago, does not "know" her son. That's about all there is to it. Bottom line is...we don't get to pick and choose our children and our children don't get to pick and choose their parents. We are who we are and I hope this young man is held accountable if he is proven guilty. I'm sorry for this mother's loss, as well.

Agreed, and the person I am referring to seems quite content to wake up on Seagrove Beach each day, use the public facilities, hop on his bike and go see where he can scare up a sandwich. There is a difference between "homeless" and a very willing "beach bum". Both need to be addressed in Sowal, and this recent tragedy highlights the importance of reporting trespassers. Our neighborhood board will be encouraging people to report this kind of thing to the sheriff.

Does the Bramble Grove walkover resident look like Sullivan from LOST? I've seen who I could almost be certain is this character hanging around the Eastern Lake Road area:



Seems to be harmless and I've never had any interaction with him, but the recent tragedy unfortunately brings up the reality and risk of vagrants who might not be harmless...

That's exactly the way they are in Midtown Atlanta. Even when free food is offered by volunteers in a vacant lot at the intersection of Juniper and Pine, they are reluctant to take it.

The I-20/I-85 interchange has a huge, tiered landscaped area in the middle of all of the exit and merging ramps. If you can take your eyes off of traffic long enough (which is dangerous) to scan that area, you'll see what looks like a huge homeless community campground. I guess it's not very easy for L.E.O.s and other people to get to, so they settle in there as their base. Is that part of Midtown?

The I-20/I-85 interchange has a huge, tiered landscaped area in the middle of all of the exit and merging ramps. If you can take your eyes off of traffic long enough (which is dangerous) to scan that area, you'll see what looks like a huge homeless community campground. I guess it's not very easy for L.E.O.s and other people to get to, so they settle in there as their base. Is that part of Midtown?

The area I'm referring to is near Georgia Tech, right where the 75/85 connector takes a curve near the West Peachtree exit is if you're going northbound or the North Avenue exit if you are going southbound. Basically the curve near The Varsity.
Midtown's Peachtree Corridor - the business district dotted with skyscapers, roughly bounded by the Downtown Connector on the west, I-85 on the north, Piedmont Ave. on the east, and North Ave. on the south[2]
The "Midtown Neighborhood", the area east of Piedmont Avenue and south of Piedmont Park – a residential area of single-family houses and small apartment buildings. It borders the BeltLine and the Poncey-Highland neighborhood on the east and Ponce de Leon Avenue and the Old Fourth Ward on the south[2] – roughly contiguous with the National Register-listed Midtown Historic District[3]

Thank you, Hippie Chick. If his mother had any class she would not be talking to the media any time soon. And for those who say "I feel sorry for her, too", shame on you for trying to equate the two. I'm sick and tired of "moral relativism"; it is bringing our whole society and justice system down. His mom is not to blame, but our sympathies should lie soley with Courtney and her family.

I don't know about you but personally I don't care about anything that comes out of his Mother's mouth. No she is not responsible for what her son did. But saying things like, he seemed emotionally abused, and was a special needs student, and that he was high on drugs and does not remember, is making excuses for his murdering that child. This community is still in shock over the murder and now is not the time for his mother to talk about her poor kids problems. It makes me sick!

I disagree with that - obviously there is no comparison between what the two different sets of parents are going through, but that does not mean that she is completely undeserving of sympathy for what she and the rest of the family must now deal with.

Agree that giving an interview and trying to get him sympathy is as classy as her gomer son grinning in the mugshot, but as my mother says "I'm your parent, so I'll love you even if you commit murder."

Regarding the "Bramble man", that's not him. I've lived a 3 iron from the Bramble walkover for 8+ years, before the old walkover was knocked down by one of the hurricanes and was replaced with the nice one we have now. My wife takes our 3 year old and 11 month old out to that beach about 3 times per week, and we typically walk down for sunset once a week. Other than a few quick words sometimes, heys and War Eagles, we aren't regular friends or acquaintances with JT. We've always noticed that he not only cleans up after himself, he'll clean up after the tourists who leave their stuff on the beach. A lot of the toys he picks up, he'll put out for kids to freely use. Most of the times when we head down for sunset, he's getting on his bike heading out. Maybe he's going to the Angelina's bar. I don't know, and I'm hoping my time at local bars isn't a topic of conversation on an internet message board. Never once has he asked any of us for money, and never have we given him money.

For an area that sanctimoniously prides itself in open-mindedness, it is unfortunate to see the "call the cops and round up the Bramble hobo" posts. What happened to that child is incredibly tragic, and our prayers go out to her family, but the murder was committed by a criminally disturbed individual who appears to have been homeless for a few days, maybe a few weeks. I understand that looking the other way on someone sleeping on the beach can lead to many more sleeping on the beach, potentially other disturbed individuals with whom we are not familiar. However, as of now, we don't have a problem like Hawaii beaches, or anything close to it.

I realize that people go on vacation want to get away from things that might not fit their idealistic south Walton vacation. On the other hand, I wish the tourists would focus more on getting their own houses in order rather than worrying about a non-problem in a place they vacation. I know that might be offensive, but it is not an opinion that I alone share. I'm not here to argue or debate this, but I wanted to give the side of a family who deals with the issue on a daily basis before the torches and pitchforks are passed. I may head down to the beach a little early tonight and drop off a paintbrush and easel and tell him to sell "authentic, local art" until this blows over.

Have a nice day.
Philip

Increasing numbers of homeless people camping out on/near the beach and making people feel uneasy or unsafe is not just a tourist issue.

Saying we should address said issue before it becomes a bigger problem is not the same as "pitchforks and torches."

Glad you like your homeless guy and think he does a good job cleaning the beach. The one by my house left cigarette butts everywhere.

Just to clarify, the "Bramble man" was specifically mentioned over half a dozen times, that's why I referred specifically to him.

I thought there was more than 1 "Bramble man"? Heard several months ago that there was a group camped out there.

Cozzie has developed amnesia, eh? Not until after his defense attorney got ahold of him. I'm assuming (maybe incorrectly) he has a public defender and I know for a fact a local public defender likes to use the "I was on drugs and don't remember anything at all" defense. That was for a dingbat breaking into cars though, so not sure if that sort of thing works in a murder case.

Those of us who own second homes on 30A have a vested interest in the community. We have raised children there very part time, and it could have been them last week. We serve on our neighborhood boards and have to deal with security issues as do the full time residents. We are not "tourists"......we are there whenever we can be because it is our home away from home.

You say we don't have the problems of Hawaii, but it seems like that day is coming. A drug related murder last winter, and now this heartbreaking crime. No one who is obeying the laws needs to worry about "torches and pitchforks". And if the homeless men are doing such a good job cleaning up the beach, let's get them on the county payroll so they can afford to pay rent somewhere.

Cozzie has developed amnesia, eh? Not until after his defense attorney got ahold of him. I'm assuming (maybe incorrectly) he has a public defender and I know for a fact a local public defender likes to use the "I was on drugs and don't remember anything at all" defense. That was for a dingbat breaking into cars though, so not sure if that sort of thing works in a murder case.

If he has amnesia it occurred long after he led someone to the body, told them what he had done, and was arrested.

Public defender Lenny Platteborze is his lawyer according to the Walton Sun.

The beaches of La Jolla California and probably most in California are no stranger to the homeless. La Jolla is a very upscale community and I never saw anyone kick a homeless person off that beach. It seems some of you are just put off by a person who happens not to have a residence. Personally, I admire a person that has the fortitude to live without 'stuff' and/or a place to put it. Being homeless doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being a murderer.

The beaches of La Jolla California and probably most in California are no stranger to the homeless. La Jolla is a very upscale community and I never saw anyone kick a homeless person off that beach. It seems some of you are just put off by a person who happens not to have a residence. Personally, I admire a person that has the fortitude to live without 'stuff' and/or a place to put it. Being homeless doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being a murderer.

Wow, I've never noticed that in La Jolla. It seems so Neiman-Marcus-land.

On second thought, on my last visit I decided I wanted to move there, drive an ancient, beat-up BMW convertible, and live like a hippie without the burden of possessions. I really cried when we left.

I don't have a problem with people who choose to "live lite". We have many Sowallers who do not feel the need to have a car, own closets full of clothes, a giant house, or constantly fret about status.

I do have a problem with vagrants living under my neighborhood's beach walkover, littering, and preventing residents, visitors, and their families from enjoying it.

Not saying they are all murderers and rapists who should be arrested or run out of town on a rail, just that the same rules that apply to us should apply to them and that beach walkovers are probably not the best places for them to be living for a variety of reasons.

Many homeless people have mental problems, health problems, and/or addiction issues - that's often why they are homeless - not because they are harmless happy hippies.

I don't disagree with any of that SB. It was the happy hippies I was referring to... The ones that don't panhandle, beg, steal, litter, or otherwise make themselves a nuisance to the surrounding members of the community.

I kind of get the idea that everyone at the Sowal High School knew this guy was not all there. With that said why were the police not keeping an eye on this guy. They seem to have plenty of time to sit on the side of Hwy 98 waiting for some tourist to go 55mph in the 45mph.

Are you proposing the police should have had him under 24 hour surveillance because he was creepy in high school? That's ludicrous and I am glad our police actually pull over speeders as well. If anyone is responsible for negligence, it's his parents. It sounds like they should have had him evaluated instead of just kicking him out.

Maybe the parents don't have health insurance on him and can't afford treatment and meds. Maybe they don't understand the symptoms of mental illnesses. Maybe they are in denial.

I have a student in this situation. He was exhibiting unusual behaviors (I think bipolar disorder with acute depression -- he tried to commit suicide a few times). Because of FERPA, we couldn't legally contact his mother. I asked his girlfriend to tell her ASAP. She did. The mother didn't get him any treatment and let him just stay home and skip classes. He had a 3.6 average prior to spring semester and was supposed to graduate in May. He failed everything this spring. I just can't believe his mother did nothing.

No excuse for Cozzie brutally murdering someone.

JT has business cards, so I'd say he's more of a travelling businessman than a hobo.

Um, travelling businessmen stay in hotels or condos not on the beach trying to get money from people. I am sorry, but if he works and has business cards he should try to find a cheap room someplace or if there are people that don't mind him there, why don't you offer him there, why not let him stay with you. I moved here to get away from the crime where I lived and for the friendliness abd beauty of the place. I had no idea we had homesless people living under walk overs on the beach or elsewhere. It certainly detracts from the beauty and safety of this place.

I agree. This is not "tough love". It is disgusting.