Andrews – It’s possible the world will never know what truly angered the man who brutally murdered 51-year-old Charles David McTaggart on Friday night.
The accused killer, 32-year-old Demarcgo De’Nell Coleman, has a last known address in Covington, Ga. Officials with the Andrews Housing Authority say he was visiting relatives who have lived there for less than four months.
The killing, which was captured by video surveillance cameras installed at the housing authority about a month ago, has left investigators scratching their heads. So far, police have not determined a motive for the alleged murder, nor do they know whether McTaggart and Coleman exchanged words prior to the incident that claimed McTaggart’s life.
“This was the most brutal thing I’ve ever seen,” Andrews Police Chief Michael Hobgood said. “He tried to cut his head off. The deceased tried to fight back, but he didn’t have full strength because he was losing blood. It was terrible to watch.”
McTaggart died Friday following a late-night knife attack on Heaton Circle at the Andrews Housing Authority. Video footage of the killing, which was reviewed by the Cherokee Scout, shows McTaggart removing a bag of items from a community trash bin around 10:15 p.m. before climbing on a bicycle to pedal away. McTaggart barely travels a few feet before an assailant approaches him.
‘This is a shock’
While the video does not contain audio, it appears the killer says something to McTaggart before grabbing him. McTaggart tries to climb off the bike and escape the man, but he falls onto the grass. The suspect then stands over McTaggart, who tries to break away from his grasp.
After a few seconds of struggle between the two men, the suspect pulls a knife from what appears to be a sheath on his side and repeatedly cuts McTaggart’s throat. The suspect cuts McTaggart’s throat at least five times before walking away and leaving his victim on the ground to die.
A few seconds later, McTaggart manages to stand up. He stumbles to a house across the street from the Dumpster and collapses on the front porch.
When police arrived on scene, they found Coleman nearby smoking a cigarette. He was wearing the same shirt seen on the suspect in surveillance footage, and his socks were covered in blood. Police say Coleman never spoke a word during interrogation and would only nod his head when asked if he wanted an attorney.
“This is a shock,” said Debra “Cindy” McTaggart, who has been separated from her husband for about 10 years. “I’ve never known him to go down to the housing authority project. It’s a very sad thing.”
Life before death
Charles David McTaggart, known affectionately as “Chuck,” hailed from a broken home. His biological mother lives out of state, and the two never stayed in touch. Chuck’s father, known as “Sonny,” married another woman, who convinced him to turn his back on his drug-addicted son. Chuck’s father passed away in November; his stepmother passed away in February.
“Chuck had a hard life growing up,” Cindy said. “His stepmom locked him out. But his daddy loved him.”
Chuck struggled with addiction for much of his life and survived homelessness for nearly a decade before his untimely demise. He and Cindy married in 1984, but separated when their son Nicholas was 8 years old. Although the couple did not live together, they maintained regular contact.
“He was using needles, so I had to get my kid away from that,” Cindy said. “He had to be straight before he could come around. He’d go see his son at work every day, and Nicholas would buy him two hamburgers.”
Cindy also provided food for Chuck on a regular basis, but he found no such luck when dealing with others in the community. Chuck often rummaged through trash bins throughout Andrews, looking for something to hold him over until his next meal.
“He told me and Nick that nobody wanted him,” Cindy said. “He said he’d knock on a door to ask for a glass of water or something to eat and they would shut the door in his face and tell him to leave. He would come to me and Nick all the time, and say he didn’t have anything to live for. He said he was tired of living that life.
“There was a lot of good in him; he just went down the wrong road.”
‘Never caused problems’
Police believe Chuck was searching for food prior to being murdered. Officials say the bag he pulled from the Dumpster didn’t appear to contain anything that belonged to the suspect accused of killing him, just a sandwich and other “junk” of little to no value.
“Chuck never caused any problems, or started any fights or arguments,” Cindy said. “He was a good person and would give you the shirt off his back. He loved the Lord, and he would go to church every now and then with some friends. He wanted help. He came to us not long ago, begging to help him get off the drugs.”
Mayor James Reid grew up with Chuck and described him as a “very good” baseball player. He has decided to donate a month’s worth of the salary he earns as mayor to help with funeral expenses.
Reid also established a fund to help Nicholas pay for college when he’s ready to attend. Others in the community have donated funds to help Nick as well.
Coleman is charged with felony murder. He is being held at the Cherokee County Detention Center in Murphy with no bond.
“We recently invested more than $16,000 to install cameras, and we plan to install more,” said Alderman Mike Sheidy, who is also executive director of the housing authority. “It was all worth it to be able to find the person who committed this heinous crime.”