Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, October 23,2019
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Murder suspect
returned to Ga.
By Alex Popp
DCN Regional Staff
Austin Todd Stryker,
the 22-year-old man who
authorities consider a
prime murder suspect in
the death of a Lumpkin
County woman, has been
extradited back to
Georgia from
Pennsylvania, officials
say.
According to Lumpkin
County Sheriff Stacy
Jarrard, Stryker was
returned to the custody of
the Lumpkin County
Sheriff’s Office on
Tuesday, Oct. 15 for
arrest warrants for mur
der and armed robbery.
Stryker is accused of
killing Hannah Bender, a
21-year-old woman from
Dahlonega who was
reported missing by her
mother on Sept. 19.
Bender’s body was later
discovered buried in a
shallow grave off Parks
Road in north Forsyth in
late September.
At a press conference
held following the dis
covery of Bender’s body,
Jarrard told reporters that
authorities believe that
Bender was killed at a
campsite in Lumpkin
County, but the search for
her body involved law
enforcement authorities
from multiple agencies
and crime scenes in
Lumpkin, Dawson and
Forsyth counties.
The discovery of
Bender’s body sparked a
statewide manhunt for
Stryker, who after several
weeks spent on the run
surrendered to authorities
in Pittsburg on
Wednesday, Oct. 1.
On Friday, Jarrard said
that in addition to the
warrant for murder,
Stryker is being charged
with armed robbery for
an unrelated robbery at a
Lumpkin County Dollar
General that took place in
July.
Jarrard said that
Stryker is currently being
held in custody in
Lumpkin County, but that
he could be moved to a
different county based on
the outcome of the ongo
ing GBI investigation.
“The Georgia Bureau
of Investigations is still
pursuing the case to see
where the jurisdiction
will fall,” he said.
In addition to Stryker’s
arrest, authorities have
charged five other indi
viduals in connection
with Bender’s death.
Those arrests include
the following individuals:
Elizabeth Donaldson,
21, was arrested in
Dawson County on
Wednesday, Sept. 25 —
the day law Bender’s
body was discovered —
and has been charged
with tampering with evi
dence. Donaldson is
reportedly Stryker’s wife.
Stryker
Jerry Harper, 78, was
arrested Sept. 27 in
Dawson County and
charged with theft by
receiving stolen property
and driving while license
suspended or revoked,
but the GBI previously
stated it had taken war
rants out for Harper for
“concealment of dead
body” and “tampering
with evidence” in Forsyth
County. Harper is being
held in custody under no
bond.
On Monday, Sept. 30,
Dawson County residents
Isaac Huff, 18, and Dylan
Reid, 19, were arrested in
Dawson by the GBI.
Huff has been charged
with one felony count for
concealing death and is
accused of allowing
another to keep Bender’s
body on his property.
Huff is being held in cus
tody under no bond.
Reid has been charged
with felony counts of
tampering with evidence
and concealing death. He
is accused of knowingly
concealing evidence con
nected to Bender’s mur
der, concealing Bender’s
death and hindering the
discovery of her body.
Reid is being held in cus
tody under no bond.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1,
Bailey Diane Williams,
21, of Lumpkin County
was arrested in Lumpkin
County in connection
with the case. Williams
has been charged with
tampering with evidence.
Williams was later
released from custody on
a bond of $10,200.
Authorities would not
comment on any of the
suspects’ relationships to
Bender or each other.
Authorities previously
stated that more arrests
are possible as the inves
tigation continues.
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