Banks County suspicious death leads to murder charge

A body found overnight at a house just south of Homer is apparently the victim of homicide.

After an autopsy and witness interviews, Sheriff’s Sgt. Carissa McFaddin says 49-year-old Billy Charles Lewallen faces charges of Malice Murder and Concealing a Dead Body.

Banks County deputies conducting a welfare check at a house at 1151 McDonald Circle early Thursday morning found the body. Sheriff Carlton Speed called in agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to help with the inquiry.

The body was found at the home just after 1 AM Thursday about 4 miles south of Homer off old highway 441 near Banks County High School. “It is alleged that the body had been in the house for several days,” McFaddin explains.

“The body is currently being held at the GBI Crime Lab for identification confirmation,” she says “The identity of the deceased is expected to be released early next week,”