Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee answers questions from reporters during a Monday afternoon press conference following charges of murder being filed against 41-year-old Marcus Lillard, who had sold cars and trucks at several dealerships in Milledgeville over the years. Lillard is accused of strangling to death a University of Georgia professor at a friend’s home in Baldwin County sometime late Saturday or early Sunday. Standing with the sheriff at the press conference (left to right) are: Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Michael Maybin; GBI Assistant Agent In-Charge of the Milledgeville Region 6 Office Mary Chandler; and Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Scott Deason on the right side of the sheriff.

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The murder of a well-known University of Georgia professor who was found strangled to death at a Baldwin County residence Mother’s Day weekend remains an open investigation, according to Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee.

The sheriff answered a number of questions concerning the murder of Dr. Marrianne Clopton Shockley during a Wednesday morning interview with The Union-Recorder.

“All of our people have sat down with GBI agents and reviewed all of the evidence and information we’ve collected thus far in this case,” Massee said. “And we’re still working on getting some telephone information and trying to get some technical assistance to pull some other records.”

The veteran sheriff said detectives and agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 6 Office in Milledgeville were continuing interviews with people regarding what Massee has described as one of the most bizarre cases ever to happen in Baldwin County.

Shockley’s body was discovered in a hot tub outside the ranch-style home of Clark Heindel on Watson Reynolds Road in the eastern section of Baldwin County. Heindel was a former clinical psychologist turned Milledgeville businessman.

While local authorities were processing the crime scene and looking for evidence in and around the deck of a swimming pool and nearby hot tub, Heindel went inside the master bedroom bathroom and shot himself in the head with a shotgun.

Heindel earlier had talked with authorities when they arrived on the scene to investigate the death.

Authorities say Heindel and the man Shockley had been dating for the past year and a half, Marcus Lillard, had tried to perform CPR after the UGA professor was found unresponsive in the 107-degree waters of the hot tub.

No one called 911 for help for more than two hours. That 911 call was made at 1:06 a.m. on Mother’s Day — Sunday, May 12, authorities said.

Shockley, Lillard and Heindel were all naked with authorities arrived. 

Shockley’s boyfriend, Lillard, 41, of Dam Road, Milledgeville, was arrested May 13, and charged with murder, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another. He remains in the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center.

Lillard, a car salesman most of his life, is being held in general population at the jail, the sheriff said.

“We monitor him just like we do all of our other inmates,” Massee said.

Shockley’s murder has stunned her family, friends and colleagues.

“We are interviewing a number of people that had been spoken to by these individuals prior to this incident happening,” Massee said. “We don’t know that any of these people have any information on the incident itself, but we’re doing background investigations as far as that goes, too. And we’re also awaiting some results from the crime laboratory, such as toxicology tests.”

The toxicology results would reveal whether or not anyone — Shockley, Lillard or Heindel — were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It is expected to take weeks before authorities receive the toxicology reports, the sheriff said.

“It really doesn’t hamper us that much now, but when you do an autopsy and you get to a point of going to trial, you need that for guidance more so than we do now,” Massee said.

The sheriff said detectives and GBI agents have returned to the scene on three different occasions.

Authorities recently executed a search warrant and seized a vehicle in connection with the case, but Massee would not elaborate on what prompted such or what sort of evidence the vehicle might produce, if any.

“We don’t know at this point and time,” Massee said. “We’re still trying to determine if, in fact, it did involve in anyway with the case. We’re still actively working that part of it.”

Asked if the suspect had been cooperative with authorities, Massee said detectives and GBI agents had interviewed a number of people, but he couldn’t elaborate about any of the interviews.

Massee was also asked if Lillard had obtained an attorney. 

“I don’t know if he has one or not or whether he’s been appointed an attorney or not at this time,” Massee said.

The murder investigation “is still very active,” the sheriff said.

“We had a meeting — all of our people and GBI agents — on Monday,” Massee said. “We plan to sit down and do what we call a table talk and go over everything we have and make sure we haven’t missed anything at the scene or in interviews.”

Massee also said anyone with information they believe might be helpful to authorities should call either the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office crime tip line at 478-445-5102 or the GBI Region 6 Office in Milledgeville at 478-445-4173.