An unsolved murder case from 1989 has finally been solved after more than three decades. Mary Louicile Willfong’s body was found by deer hunters on November 21st, 1989, in Monroe County, Georgia. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was strangulation and that she had been sexually assaulted. Despite several suspects being interviewed and DNA samples being taken, the case went unsolved. In 2019, Sheriff Freeman tasked Investigator Marc Mansfield with reopening the case. Mansfield resubmitted the original evidence to the GBI crime lab due to new technology and also had DNA taken from the victim analyzed. This led to the identification of a suspect, a resident of Indiana, who was eventually arrested on March 1st, 2023. Larry Padgett, age 59, of Loogootee, Indiana, was taken into custody by Investigator Mansfield and Sergeant Kemeyan Colvard. Investigators were able to obtain more evidence in the case while in Indiana, linking Padgett to the murder of Mary Willfong. He will be held in Indiana until a waiver of extradition is signed. Finally, justice will be served for Mary Willfong and her loved ones.
