Mitchell County Georgia Obituaries Leland L. Lastinger 1945 ****************************************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for FREE access. ****************************************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sam Luckey Oct 2002 Table of Contents page: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/mitchell.htm Georgia Table of Contents: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm Obituary of Leland L. Lastinger as written in "The Camilla Enterprise" dated 28 Jun 1945. Camilla, Georgia. Leland L. Lastinger, 48 year old former Camilla resident who moved to Pelham about a year and a half ago to work at the Clark Thread Mill, killed his wife, his wife's daughter by a former marriage, and then himself, according to a coroner's jury impaneled immediately after the shooting which took place at the Lastinger home in Pelham last Saturday, 23 Jun 1945, shortly after 10:00 PM. Sheriff W. M. Harris, who investigated the triple shooting, said that information surrounding the shooting was gained by authorities from Cecil Lastinger, ten year old son of the couple who was the only eye witness, but because of the extreme youth of the witness the authorities questioned the child only enough for the coroner's jury to reach a decision and render a verdict. Sheriff Harris said that the child told him his father and his sister, Eunice Pearl Harrell (the child killed), came in from town about 10:00 PM and his father went to the kitchen to talk to his mother. He said he heard his mother say that she was fixing to leave his father and "there was nothing you can do about it." Following this statement by his mother, the child said his father went immediately to the bedroom and got his pistol and shot his wife, then shot and killed his step-daughter. He then shot his wife a second time and when he put the pistol to his own head the bullets had apparently run out for the pistol snapped and Lastinger then went and got a shotgun which he used to kill himself. The ten year old boy told Sheriff that when his father first started after his mother and sister with the gun his mother screamed to him (the child) to go across the street and "get Mr. Stevens." The child said that he went to get the neighbor but all three were dead by the time he and Mr. Stevens arrived. Three other small children of Mr. and Mrs. Lastinger, ranging in age from two to eight years, were in bed asleep during the time of the shooting. Funeral services for Mr. Lastinger were held Monday, 25 Jun 1945, at 10:00 AM at the graveside in Oakview cemetery in Camilla. Serving as pall bearers were a group of fellow employees at Clark Thread Mill. They were Paul Beck, Robert Joiner, Joe Porter, Ira Cook, L. B. Whigham and Clyde Jordan. Mr. Lastinger moved to Camilla in 1900 with his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Lastinger, and grew up here, attending the Camilla School. After receiving his education he worked here in Camilla until about a year and half ago when he moved to Pelham. Brother and sisters who survive are Ambrose Lastinger, Miss Alda Lastinger, and Mrs. Judson Rigsby, all of Camilla; Mrs. T. D. Preston of Newton; A. C. Lastinger of Albany. Children by a former marriage who survive Mr. Lastinger are Roy Lastinger of the U. S. Navy and William Lastinger of Jacksonville, Fla. Cecil, Irene, Don and Mable are the four small children of the couple who died in the triple shooting. Mrs. Lastinger and her daughter, Eunice Pearl Harrell, were buried late Monday afternoon at the New Bethel cemetery in Thomas County near Meigs. Mrs. Lastinger was the former Miss Timmons of Thomas County, and her parents survive.