Craig Heidt guilty of Malice Murder

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. - A jury convicted a Georgia man of murder Thursday in the 2008 shotgun slayings of his father and brother, crimes prosecutors said resulted from a family feud over an affair between the defendant and his brother's wife.

The Effingham County jury deliberated about six hours Thursday before finding 42-year-old Craig Heidt guilty of malice murder and nine other counts, including a charge of aggravated battery for shooting his mother in the face.

Heidt closed his eyes and shook his head as the verdict was read. The judge said he would sentence Heidt later. However, the murder charges carry an automatic life sentence.

Prosecutors said Heidt killed his father, real estate developer Philip Heidt, and younger brother, Carey Heidt, in August 2008 after they discovered he had been sleeping with his brother's wife and tried to stop the affair.

Both men were killed in bed by shotgun blasts at Philip Heidt's home in Springfield, northwest of Savannah. Craig Heidt's mother, Linda Heidt, survived being shot in the face, but was unable to identify her attacker.

"The man that is capable of sleeping with his dead brother's wife is capable of doing anything," prosecutor Michael Muldrew said in his closing argument Thursday. "He hated his brother, he hated his father and the only way he'd inherit any money to finance his lifestyle is to kill his father and kill his brother."

Heidt's defense attoey, Dow Bonds, insisted a lack of physical evidence linking Heidt to the crime amounted to prosecutors asking them to take "a leap of faith" and left plenty of room for reasonable doubt.

Craig Heidt denied committing the slayings and investigators never found the gun, the spent shotgun shells or any fingerprints or blood to incriminate him.

"It was hearsay, suspicion, rumor and gossip -- that's what drove the investigation," Bonds told jurors. "Next to sleeping with the brother's wife, the only thing more stupid is lying about it to the police. But those things do not make someone a murderer."

The jury of eight women and four men decided there was enough evidence to tie Craig Heidt to the crimes after hearing seven days of testimony and legal arguments.

Police did find three unfired shotgun shells in the defendant's truck. And they found bruises on his arm that a pathologist testified were likely caused by recoil from the stock of a large gun.

Muldrew also noted Craig Heidt at first lied about his affair when confronted by authorities. He also denied the shotgun shells could have been found in his truck, though he was an avid hunter.

Superior Court Judge F. Gates Peed said he planned to hold a sentencing hearing for Heidt in two or three weeks.