LeMod Pol
2004-08-31 00:49:52 UTC
Suspect drove home from bar after crash with friend's
headless body in his truck.
Cobb driver charged after decapitated body found in truck
By SAEED AHMED, BRENDEN SAGER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Marietta man left a bar early Sunday morning, got
into an accident that decapitated the passenger in his
pickup truck, then drove several miles home and went to
sleep -- leaving his pickup truck parked overnight in
his driveway with the body of his friend hanging out
the passenger side window, Cobb County police said.
Police said John Kemper Hutcherson, 21, of Marietta
drove off a road soon after leaving a bar about
midnight and hit a support wire to a telephone pole.
The guide wire severed the head of his friend, Francis
Daniel Brohm, 23, of Marietta.
Hutcherson then drove 12 miles to his home on Fox Hound
Chase, where police found him Sunday morning in
blood-splattered clothes.
"It's hard for one to imagine that you would drive
[several] miles from a crash site to your home, turning
in various directions, and yet not know what has
happened to a passenger sitting next to you in your
vehicle," said Cobb police Cpl. Dana Pierce.
A neighbor out on a stroll with his 1-year-old daughter
called authorities after discovering the headless body
in the parked truck about 8 a.m.
Hutcherson was charged with first-degree vehicular
homicide, driving under the influence, failure to stop
at an accident with death or injury and failure to
maintain lanes.
Hutcherson, dressed in orange jail clothing and with
his head partially shaved, made his first court
appearance this morning in a courtroom at the county's
Adult Detention Center. Cobb County Magistrate's Court
Judge Jennifer Frey set Hutcherson's bond at $100,000.
He remains in the Cobb County Jail.
Police said that before the two friends got to
Runaround Sue's in Marietta late Saturday night, they
had been at a house where they had gathered to watch a
televised NASCAR event. Brohm's father, Dan Brohm, said
that Brohm was a mechanic who worked late on Saturdays
and then met up with friends sometimes.
Police don't know how long the friends were at the bar
but said the two left after Brohm felt sick.
Less than a mile and half from the bar, the pickup
truck ran off Canton Road, traveled about 10 feet and
hit the guide wire.
Investigators have not yet determined how fast the
truck was going. Police would not say why Brohm was
hanging out the passenger-side window when he was struck.
After the accident, police said, Hutcherson's route
home took him through a commercial and industrial
district that changed to dark, narrow winding roads
before reaching the two-story Colonial house where he
lives with his mother and sister. He parked the 1992
Chevrolet Z-71 in the driveway to the house's two-car garage.
Except for the body in the passenger seat, the only
thing amiss was the passenger-side mirror, which had
been sheared off in the accident.
Later that morning, police found the severed head at
the crash site on Canton Road.
Pierce would not say how Hutcherson explained the
headless body in his truck.
Robert Gladstone, 61, who lives a few doors down from
Hutcherson's house and describes him as "a fine
fellow," said residents were shocked when they saw the
police and the white sheet over the body in the truck.
"But as the day progressed and we found out more and
more, my wife and I were in utter disbelief," he said.
"It was beyond our imagination."
The owner of Runaround Sue's said Sunday that the bar
offers a courtesy van to take home intoxicated patrons.
Before customers are allowed to enter, bar personnel
check to see if they are inebriated, and the staff
continues to monitor patrons' alcohol intake throughout
the night, said owner David Ulmer.
"To my knowledge, these people weren't served alcohol
at Runaround Sue's," Ulmer said. "It's unfortunate that
we may have been the last stop they made before this
horrendous incident."
Brohm's father described Francis -- Frankie to the
family -- as a fun-loving person who had been friends
with Hutcherson since high school.
"He was a very outgoing person who was very close with
his friends and very close with his [two] sisters," Dan
Brohm said.
Next-door neighbor James Q. Collier, a retired engineer
from Lockheed, said he has known Hutcherson for almost
20 years. When Collier was laid up because of an ulcer
a few years ago, Hutcherson would come by to help with
household chores, he said.
"It sounds awful, I'm sorry for both families," Collier
said. "That kid has never been any problem."
© 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://my.ajc.com/W7RT0450B4735B174E1553FA95B620
headless body in his truck.
Cobb driver charged after decapitated body found in truck
By SAEED AHMED, BRENDEN SAGER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Marietta man left a bar early Sunday morning, got
into an accident that decapitated the passenger in his
pickup truck, then drove several miles home and went to
sleep -- leaving his pickup truck parked overnight in
his driveway with the body of his friend hanging out
the passenger side window, Cobb County police said.
Police said John Kemper Hutcherson, 21, of Marietta
drove off a road soon after leaving a bar about
midnight and hit a support wire to a telephone pole.
The guide wire severed the head of his friend, Francis
Daniel Brohm, 23, of Marietta.
Hutcherson then drove 12 miles to his home on Fox Hound
Chase, where police found him Sunday morning in
blood-splattered clothes.
"It's hard for one to imagine that you would drive
[several] miles from a crash site to your home, turning
in various directions, and yet not know what has
happened to a passenger sitting next to you in your
vehicle," said Cobb police Cpl. Dana Pierce.
A neighbor out on a stroll with his 1-year-old daughter
called authorities after discovering the headless body
in the parked truck about 8 a.m.
Hutcherson was charged with first-degree vehicular
homicide, driving under the influence, failure to stop
at an accident with death or injury and failure to
maintain lanes.
Hutcherson, dressed in orange jail clothing and with
his head partially shaved, made his first court
appearance this morning in a courtroom at the county's
Adult Detention Center. Cobb County Magistrate's Court
Judge Jennifer Frey set Hutcherson's bond at $100,000.
He remains in the Cobb County Jail.
Police said that before the two friends got to
Runaround Sue's in Marietta late Saturday night, they
had been at a house where they had gathered to watch a
televised NASCAR event. Brohm's father, Dan Brohm, said
that Brohm was a mechanic who worked late on Saturdays
and then met up with friends sometimes.
Police don't know how long the friends were at the bar
but said the two left after Brohm felt sick.
Less than a mile and half from the bar, the pickup
truck ran off Canton Road, traveled about 10 feet and
hit the guide wire.
Investigators have not yet determined how fast the
truck was going. Police would not say why Brohm was
hanging out the passenger-side window when he was struck.
After the accident, police said, Hutcherson's route
home took him through a commercial and industrial
district that changed to dark, narrow winding roads
before reaching the two-story Colonial house where he
lives with his mother and sister. He parked the 1992
Chevrolet Z-71 in the driveway to the house's two-car garage.
Except for the body in the passenger seat, the only
thing amiss was the passenger-side mirror, which had
been sheared off in the accident.
Later that morning, police found the severed head at
the crash site on Canton Road.
Pierce would not say how Hutcherson explained the
headless body in his truck.
Robert Gladstone, 61, who lives a few doors down from
Hutcherson's house and describes him as "a fine
fellow," said residents were shocked when they saw the
police and the white sheet over the body in the truck.
"But as the day progressed and we found out more and
more, my wife and I were in utter disbelief," he said.
"It was beyond our imagination."
The owner of Runaround Sue's said Sunday that the bar
offers a courtesy van to take home intoxicated patrons.
Before customers are allowed to enter, bar personnel
check to see if they are inebriated, and the staff
continues to monitor patrons' alcohol intake throughout
the night, said owner David Ulmer.
"To my knowledge, these people weren't served alcohol
at Runaround Sue's," Ulmer said. "It's unfortunate that
we may have been the last stop they made before this
horrendous incident."
Brohm's father described Francis -- Frankie to the
family -- as a fun-loving person who had been friends
with Hutcherson since high school.
"He was a very outgoing person who was very close with
his friends and very close with his [two] sisters," Dan
Brohm said.
Next-door neighbor James Q. Collier, a retired engineer
from Lockheed, said he has known Hutcherson for almost
20 years. When Collier was laid up because of an ulcer
a few years ago, Hutcherson would come by to help with
household chores, he said.
"It sounds awful, I'm sorry for both families," Collier
said. "That kid has never been any problem."
© 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://my.ajc.com/W7RT0450B4735B174E1553FA95B620
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LP
In politics, moderation is the best policy
LP
In politics, moderation is the best policy