Middle Georgia Cold Cases: Who Killed Chuckie Mauk?

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – It’s been nearly 30 years since a Warner Robins boy was shot and killed in a parking lot on his way home from the store.Investigators say at the time dozens of people saw and heard what happened to Chuckie Mauk, but no one knows who killed him. One captain says he’s worked tirelessly to solve the case.

A lot has changed on Russell Parkway since 1986: there are new store fronts, businesses have come and gone, and more people have moved to the city.

But one parking lot near one intersection remains the same. It’s where Chuckie Mauk was killed.

“He was constantly on that bicycle riding the neighborhood. All the kids would ride to the bowling alley parking lot. It’s just what they did, just being kids,” Captain Jon Holland, with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, said.

Chuckie’s family lived right behind the bowling alley on  Burns Drive. He’d ride his bike to a nearby convenience store all the time to buy candy, but one February night was different.

“Sometime within those ensuing minutes, someone heard a loud pop. One witness that I’ve talked to actually described it as thinking it was a firecracker and kids playing,” Holland said.

Witnesses say they saw him talking to someone in a light colored car, but they don’t know who.

“We had a lot of witnesses. A lot of people saw things,” Holland said. “They see a vehicle speeding away as they approach, within the next two minutes, Chuckie is found deceased.”

The call first came in as a hit-and-run.

Chuckie’s mother Cathy, too emotional to relive the moment and didn’t want to speak on camera, but she spoke with HLN anchor Nancy Grace in 2010 about when she found out something was wrong.

“We walked from down there and came up here and he was laying right there and that’s where we found him,” she said

“It was soon determined that he died as a result of a single gunshot wound, and I’ll say single gunshot wound to the head,” Holland said.

But who would kill a 13-year-old boy?

“We don’t expect our children to be shot in Houston County in this manner,” Holland said. “People during that time quit letting their kids ride their bikes. They quit letting them go up the streets on their bikes.”

He says he and investigators interviewed dozens of people trying to answer that question.

“They turned the neighborhood inside out. They canvassed the neighborhood. They set up road checks during that time just to find people that had seen things. Even to this day we get calls with people that either have some information or have an idea about who may have been involved,” Holland said.

There’s still no suspect.

It’s a tough conversation for Holland, especially when he talks to Chuckie’s mother.

“She still has hope that one day she’ll get a resolution, but it’s difficult,” Holland said.

It’s still a sore subject for the law enforcement officer and he isn’t wasting any time waiting for justice.

“There are people in this community that were in this community at that time that know what happened to Chuckie Mauk and or have information that will lead to the resolution of this case,” Holland said.

Chuckie’s murder has received national attention even then no one has been able to solve the case.

If you remember where you were or even have information about who killed Chuckie Mauk, call the Houston County Sheriff’s Office at 478-542-2080.