At a fishing competition in Georgia that Troy Eaton was running, dozens of people were present when shocked spectators witnessed his 85-year-old father entering the bait shop on family land, where he had allegedly shot his son, on Friday night.
Arriving just before 7 p.m. on Friday, July 12, Covington police reported that Troy Eaton was “deceased inside a building on the property” and that Wayne Eaton, the alleged shooter, “was still on scene.” Eaton was later charged with murder and booked into Newton County Jail, according to a brief press release.
In a Facebook post, Tiffany Eaton Cartledge, claiming to be Troy’s daughter, said that “Papa Troy” was a loving grandfather who would “give until he had nothing left to give.”
She went on to say of the 60-year-old, who she described as an essential member of his little town of Covington, Georgia, “he was as fair as the word can get and he loved with his whole heart.”
In memory of his mother, Cartledge said her father “worked hours on end to keep Lakeview Drive Tournament Lakes” operating, the location of his eventual deadly shooting.
The Covington Police Department was contacted by PEOPLE for further details regarding the current investigation; however, the department chose not to respond.
The police agency informed WSB-TV Atlanta over the weekend that numerous witnesses and surveillance footage existed from the shooting. They didn’t talk about potential motivations.
Troy Sanders’s grandson, Ethan Sanders, told the publication that there was a lot of confusion at the moment. “It is truly unknown what will transpire.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported over the weekend that Eaton was put into Newton jail, citing internet records. However, the elder Eaton’s detention records were not accessible online on Monday.
Whether the elder Eaton had gotten legal representation or entered a plea was not immediately apparent.
He was not mentioned by his granddaughter in the post about her father.
In the Facebook post, Cartledge said, “Words cannot express the anguish or how completely heartbroken anyone is that ever knew him.” Though I don’t wake up from it, I keep telling myself that this is the worst nightmare I could have.
