Irwin County Man Arrested in 1998 Murder of 20-Year-Old Woman Found Stabbed Along Coffee County Highway

DOUGLAS, Ga. – Nearly 28 years after a 20-year-old woman was found stabbed to death beside her vehicle along a rural Coffee County highway, investigators have arrested a 47-year-old Irwin County man in connection with her murder.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that James Lawrence III, 47, was arrested Oct. 1, 2026, and charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in the 1998 death of Christy Dawn Myers.

Myers was found Sept. 15, 1998, suffering from multiple stab wounds near her vehicle on the Broxton-Fitzgerald Highway in Coffee County.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Douglas that same day, launching an investigation that would remain unresolved for nearly three decades.

According to the GBI, continued forensic testing eventually produced evidence identifying Lawrence as a suspect.

Authorities have not disclosed what type of forensic evidence connected Lawrence to the killing or when the breakthrough occurred.

Lawrence was taken into custody Thursday, Oct. 1, with assistance from the Irwin County Sheriff’s Office.

He was booked into the Coffee County Jail.

Forensic Evidence Leads to Arrest After Nearly Three Decades

For years, investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI’s Douglas office continued working to determine who was responsible for Myers’ death.

The GBI credited the sustained investigation, additional forensic testing and cooperation among law enforcement agencies with helping investigators identify a suspect.

The case involved multiple GBI offices, local law enforcement agencies, intelligence analysts, forensic scientists and prosecutors.

The agency described Lawrence’s arrest as the result of years of investigative work and continued efforts to obtain answers in Myers’ killing.

Investigators have not released information about a possible motive, whether Lawrence knew Myers or what circumstances led to her being found beside her vehicle in September 1998.

The GBI said the investigation remains active and ongoing despite the arrest.

Anyone with information about the murder of Christy Dawn Myers is encouraged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Douglas at 912-389-4103 or the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office at 912-384-4227.