FILE 111 / 21 March 2019 / 154 MIN / full

Two Sides Of One Story

Eatonton, GeorgiaListen

The town

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

This is in central Georgia, about an hour and 15 minutes southeast of Atlanta; Putnam County, zip code 31024. about 0:09:23

History, in brief

Town note

Rock Eagle Effigy Mound is a Native American archaeological site north of the city.

about 0:11:17

Town note

It is one of only two such sites east of the Mississippi River, and both are in Putnam County.

about 0:11:33

Town note

The mound and related earthworks were made by woodland culture peoples perhaps 1,000 to 3,000 years ago.

about 0:11:44

Town note

The site is within a 1,500-acre park cared for by the University of Georgia and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

about 0:11:56
All 15 history facts

Town note

Rock Eagle Effigy Mound is a Native American archaeological site north of the city.

about 0:11:17

Town note

It is one of only two such sites east of the Mississippi River, and both are in Putnam County.

about 0:11:33

Town note

The mound and related earthworks were made by woodland culture peoples perhaps 1,000 to 3,000 years ago.

about 0:11:44

Town note

The site is within a 1,500-acre park cared for by the University of Georgia and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

about 0:11:56

1807

Eatonton was founded in 1807 and is the seat of Putnam County.

about 0:12:31

Town note

The town was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War.

about 0:13:19

1801

The First Barbary War ran from 1801 to 1805, with the United States and Sweden fighting four North African Barbary states.

about 0:14:27

Town note

After the Revolutionary War the area became a major cotton region.

about 0:15:43

1864

The Richmond Sentinel of December 2, 1864 reported Eatonton agitated a week before Sherman's troops arrived.

about 0:16:21

1919

In May 1919, in a five-hour period, five black churches and two black lodges in Eatonton were burned to the ground; no one was charged.

about 0:17:50

1920

The county population dropped by more than half between 1920 and 1960 as black people moved north and rural people moved to cities.

about 0:18:42

1992

On November 22, 1992 an F4 tornado with winds of 260 miles an hour came through the town.

about 0:19:01

Town note

The storm caused $27 million in damages and killed five people and injured 86.

about 0:19:25

Town note

In the twenty-first century Eatonton has become known as the dairy capital of Georgia.

about 0:19:43

The figures, as told

Religious

34%

Biggest faith: Baptist, 14%

about 0:25:22

Who lives here

White 30% · Black 57% · Asian 0.0% · Hispanic 12%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about 25% under

about 0:32:27

Violent crime
▲ almost double

about 0:32:27

Money

Median home value$169,600
Two-bedroom rentabout $800 a month
Median household income$34,000
Cost of living93

For sale

$55,000

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,700 square foot house

about 0:28:39

For sale

$182,000

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 2,200 square foot house

about 0:28:50

For sale

$975,000

Four-bedroom, three-bath, 3,200 square foot lake house

about 0:29:14
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2019

Property crime

"about 25% under"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:32:27

Violent crime

"almost double"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2019 about 0:32:27

Population

"6,512"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:02

Population change

"down four percent"

Comparison: "since 1990". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:06

Median age

"36.2"

Comparison: "a year and a half below the norm". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:25

Female

"about 52%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:29

Children aged five to nine

"double"

Comparison: "what it usually is". Direction: above.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:33

Married

"about 46%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:24:07

White

"30%"

Comparison: "the lowest white share we have had". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:24:26

Black

"57%"

Comparison: "12% is the average in the US". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:25:22

Voted Democrat

"29%"

Comparison: "last election in Putnam County". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:06

Voted Republican

"69%"

Comparison: "last election in Putnam County". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:06

Religious

"34%"

Comparison: "very low for the South". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:25:22

Baptist

"14%"

Comparison: "the most". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:25:47

Unemployment

"five percent"

Comparison: "about four percent in the rest of the country". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:19

Median household income

"$34,000"

Comparison: "national median $57,500, $23,000 under". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:31

Households under $15,000 a year

"20%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:39

Households making $20,000 to $30,000 a year

"another 20%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:44

Households under $30,000 a year

"40%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:48

Households under $50,000 a year

"60%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:26:50

Cost of living

"93"

Comparison: "100 is the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:27:22

Housing

"91"

Comparison: "100 is the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:27:34

Median home cost

"$169,600"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:27:36

Two-bedroom rental

"about $800 a month"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:28:05

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,700 square foot house

"$55,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:28:39

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 2,200 square foot house

"$182,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:28:50

Four-bedroom, three-bath, 3,200 square foot lake house

"$975,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:29:14

The reviews

No rated reviews

“They lived there for two years and were very unhappy: the schools are awful, education is very poor, and drugs and drug-related crime are very bad for such a small town; they are trying to leave the area.”
about 0:29:35

In Georgia

Closest episodes

  1. Evil Came To PlayMilledgeville, Georgia · 2 March 202430 km / 19 miShow on map
  2. A Deadly LoveRutledge, Georgia · 18 July 202439 km / 24 miShow on map
  3. A Very Murderous ChristmasBarnesville, Georgia · 17 December 202077 km / 48 miShow on map
  4. The Bathtub StranglerClarkston, Georgia · 2 September 202196 km / 60 miShow on map
  5. Helping Mom With MurderGrovetown, Georgia · 28 December 2024111 km / 69 miShow on map

The story

For twenty years the marriage was, by the account of friends, unremarkable: there were arguments, but nothing that suggested violence. In the late 1980s the relationship began to break down.

Patty took out a restraining order in late January 1991. He moved in with Connie in Milledgeville but kept his mail going to the trailer and kept coming back.

He said Patty had told him she would be in South Carolina that day and that he had a hotel number for her; telephone records later confirmed that calls were made to that number. Patty and Mark came home shortly before five o'clock. Mark, who was fifteen, gave five statements and then testified. In his first account he heard a shot, saw his mother's head hit the ground and could not see whether his father was holding her by the hair. The autopsy found a distant gunshot wound to the forehead with no powder burns, which did not fit that account.

The penalty hearing began the same afternoon and lasted twenty-seven minutes. Four witnesses spoke for him.

He was scheduled to die on August 14, 2002, was given a last meal of sirloin steak, lobster, baked potato and butterscotch ice cream, and was stayed again. Mark was alone and did not hear them knock over loud music. They put the body in the boot of Mark's own car, threw the pipe out on the way, and told their families the blood came from hitting a deer.

A lookout was posted for the missing car.

The case

Murder of Patty Diane Fugate

Victims

Patty Diane Fugate. ex-wife and Mark's mother; worked for David Hallman

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 21 March 2019.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Mark Fugate. and Patty's son, aged fifteen at the time; the main witness
Connie Roach. girlfriend, with whom he lived in Milledgeville
J. D. Hallman. landlord whose trailer property adjoined the family lot
Steve Fields. Patty's boyfriend
Mary Fugate. mother; testified at the penalty hearing
David Hallman. Patty's employer

The timeline

  1. November 24, 1949 is bornabout 0:36:10
  2. 1970 He marries Patty Diane Nelsonabout 0:36:26
  3. 1975 Their son Marvin Fugate IV, called Mark, is bornabout 0:36:43
  4. the late 1980s The marriage becomes contentious and the couple fight more oftenabout 0:38:43
  5. about 1989 begins dating Connie Roachabout 0:40:13
  6. the end of 1990 The divorce between and Patty becomes finalabout 0:40:05
  7. January 1991 moves out into a trailer on J. D. Hallman's property behind Hallman's trailer (J.D. Hallman's trailer)about 0:42:43
  8. late January 1991 Patty obtains a restraining order against (Fugate house)about 0:46:54
  9. January 26, 1991 The order gives until 6 p.m. to remove his tools, lumber, hats, pinball machines, go-karts and other property (Fugate house)about 0:47:54
  10. February 1, 1991 Deadline for to return the horse Apache, its tack, the CB radio and $500about 0:51:58
  11. 1991 After asking the sheriff for advice, moves in with Connie Roach in Milledgeville (Connie Roach's home)about 1:00:05
  12. late April and May 1991 Mark repeatedly asks his father to come to the house and repair his Mustang (Fugate house)about 1:01:18
  13. May 4, 1991 goes to the house to repair the car; Patty and Mark come home shortly before 5 p.m. and an argument begins (Fugate house)about 1:03:46
  14. May 4, 1991 The argument becomes a physical struggle and two shots are fired, one into the floor and one into Patty's head (Fugate house)about 1:09:12
  15. May 4, 1991 drives away, calls the sheriff's department collect from a pay phone, then follows a deputy to the sheriff's office and turns himself in (Putnam County Sheriff's Office)about 1:09:48
  16. May 4, 1991 Mark gives his first statement to police (Fugate house)about 1:27:21
  17. June 2002 A clemency bid is rejected by a board with only one member, and a stay is grantedabout 2:15:52

Murder of Mark Fugate

Victims

Mark Fugate (18). and Patty's son; McDonald's employee and the main witness against his father

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 21 March 2019.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Mark's roommate. came home during the first visit, interrupting the plan

The timeline

  1. November 2, 1993 Mark spends the evening at his house with and ; his roommate comes home and the visitors leave (Mark Fugate's home)about 2:11:09
  2. November 3, 1993, around 2 p.m. and return; hides a metal pipe in his sleeve and strikes Mark over the head at least seven times (Mark Fugate's home)about 2:11:57
  3. November 3, 1993 Mark dies of severe brain injuries; his body is wrapped in blankets and loaded into the back of ex-girlfriend's station wagon (Mark Fugate's home)about 2:12:09

Last meals

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode