Good Hope man sentenced Tuesday for murder of his elderly grandparents

The Walton County District Attorney’s office announced that Andrew Jeremy Bryant, 47, of Good Hope, was sentenced Tuesday, March, 6, 2018, to life without the possibility of parole in the brutal February 2017 murder of his elderly grandparents, Charles and Betty Bryant.

The DA’s office reported that Bryant entered guilty pleas to two counts of malice murder, two counts of concealing the death of another, and two counts of identify fraud. The two counts of malice murder carry the sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

The bodies of Charles and Betty Bryant were found when Walton County Sheriff’s deputies found a “gruesome scene” on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 when responding to a welfare check at the request from one of the couple’s sons. They had not been heard from for several days. One of their vehicles was missing, as was the couple’s grandson who had been living in the basement of the home while going through a divorce.

While still processing the scene with the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, deputies were notified that Andrew Bryant had been arrested following a high speed chase in Greene County. WCSO deputies traveled to Greene County to interview him, at which time he confessed to the murder of his grandparents.  

“They had not been heard from since Saturday and we believe that is when they were killed,” Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said the time of the murder. “Their son had come to check on them on Tuesday and didn’t see them. He did speak to the grandson (his nephew) who was in the basement, but he felt that something wasn’t right. That’s when he called us and asked us to meet him at the house.”

The Walton County DA’s office said many family members were present in court for the guilty plea and sentencing, speaking to the Court about how this tragedy has affected their family.

“Charles and Bettie Bryant were loved not only by their family and friends, but by their whole community. This sentence, which ensures that Andrew Bryant will remain in prison for the rest of his life, brings justice and closure to the family of Chalres and Bettie Bryant,” the Walton County DAs office wrote on its Facebook page. “The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Randy McGinley, Investigator Artie Turner, Victim Services Director Kim Kelly, and Legal Assistant Lucy Repp. The investigation and arrest was handled by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. In addition to the excellent work of those agencies, the District Attorney’s Office also would like to commend the Greene County Sheriff’s Office on their work in apprehending Andrew Bryant.”