Winder police: Twins charged with murder in case of man found in concrete

WINDER, Ga. — Winder police have charged a pair of twins with murder in addition to concealing a death in connection with a body found encased in concrete and buried in a back yard.

Christopher and William Cormier, 31, were taken into custody Monday aftertoon after the gruesome discovery behind the Barrow County home where they’ve lived with their father for about three weeks, according to police.

Police added the murder charge, but they did not reveal what evidence led them to adding the charge, authorities told Channel 2's Richard Elliot Wednesday afternoon.

Pensacola Police detectives are working with Winder Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to determine if the body is that of a missing Florida man.

Authorities said Sean Dugas, a 30-year-old former newspaper reporter, vanished from Pensacola in late August. On Tuesday, Winder police officer Chris Cooper confirmed the victim found in concrete died of blunt force trauma. They have not yet positively identified the victim.

Meanwhile, neighbors reported seeing men in a U-Haul van removing items from Dugas' home in early September.

On Monday, police dug up the plastic tub filled with hardened concrete from the back yard of the home on Sixth Avenue in Winder after getting a tip from the Pensacola police. The house belongs to the Cormier's father, William Cormier.

"I don't know what's happened here," said the elder Cormier, who is not charged in the case. "This is the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life."

William Cormier said his sons told him that they had been asked by a sick friend to watch his dog, but couldn't, so they killed the dog and buried it in the back yard about three weeks ago. Now, he wonders if it was the sick friend who died and was buried in the back yard. He wouldn't identify the sick friend out of respect for the man's family.

"I'm have to believe in my heart that he died of natural causes and that my sons panicked and did the wrong thing," said Cormier. "That's what I'm hoping. I can't tell you what happened, I don't know. But as their father, I have to believe that's what happened."

A GBI spokesman said medical examiners had to use sledgehammers to remove the body from the concrete so they could begin the autopsy.

The suspects' father worries his neighbors view him as a monster after the discovery in his back yard.

"We're not monsters. We're people," said Cormier. "I'm trying to cope with losing my sons and wrapping my head around somebody being dead in my back yard. Nothing good is going to come out of this. This is devastating. It's not going to get better."

WSBTV