Four Arrested in 2020 Double Murder of Retired Nurse and Firefighter in Warren County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has arrested four individuals from the Thomson area in connection with the 2020 murders of Cheryl Newsome and Troy Bennett.

Randy Joseph Hall, 39; Lora Lea Thornton, 34; Chance Joseph McKenna, 21; and a minor have been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of armed robbery, and one count of first-degree burglary.

On August 3, 2020, Newsome and Bennett were found dead in their home, with evidence indicating a home invasion. Newsome was a retired nurse, and Bennett was a veteran and retired firefighter.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office requested GBI assistance in the death investigation. On August 14, 2023, the GBI Cold Case Unit received a Coleman-Baker Act application from the victims’ family requesting a review. The unit partnered with the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Thomson and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an in-depth review and analysis, leading to the arrests.

Hall and Thornton were booked into the McDuffie County Jail. McKenna remains in custody with the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Anyone with information about this investigation is encouraged to submit a tip. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online or by downloading the See Something, Send Something app.

For more information about the GBI Cold Case Unit and the Coleman Baker Act please visit, https://gbi.georgia.gov/coleman-baker-act-application

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Toombs Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.