New Leads In 19-Year-Old Double Homicide Case Link Donny Goetcheus As Murder Target

New information in the double homicide of Sean and Donny Goetcheus points to Donny as the target of the murders instead of Sean, authorities said Thursday.

Brothers Sean, 25, and Donny, 19, were found executed inside their Brainerd home on Jan. 9, 1997.

Until recently, investigators believed Sean was the target for the attack. But new leads received last fall revealed Donny as the likely target.

At a press conference held on Thursday, District Attorney General Neal Pinkston provided specific case details not previously released. He spoke alongside Chattanooga Police Department Sgt. Bill Phillips and Cold Case Unit Supervisor Mike Mathis. The conference served as a push to close the unsolved Goetcheus case that has gone on for 19 years, as long as Donny lived.

General Pinkston said the Cold Case Unit has focused on the last month of the brothers’ lives. New leads showed Donny’s behavior and habits changed over the last month of his life. He had been living for two months with his older brother Sean in Brainerd when he started spending a lot of time at the “pink building” with his skateboarding friends.

It was stated investigators believe the pink building, an apartment building on 8^th Street, is a place  drugs are exchanged, and that drugs were a possible motive for the double homicide.

No evidence shows Sean had anything to do with the pink building.

Witnesses have reportedly characterized Donny as fun-loving, someone who laughed a lot, a laid-back skateboarder, and new father.

But interviews with nearly 150 people led investigators to believe Donny was scared of something before his death, and he let his friends know it.

Donny’s daughter was 18 months old when he died. Over the lengthy course of the investigation, investigators stayed in contact with the mother of Donny’s child. It was stated she played a key role as a witness to Donny’s character the month leading up to his death.

Other leads a few months ago revolved around some residents of Marion County. The county was saturated with flyers offering up to a $21,000 reward to anyone who provided information to the Hamilton County DA’s Cold Case Unit that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of the Goetcheus brothers' murderer(s).

The press release that came out Thursday stated Govenor Bill Haslam gave $10,000 to the reward fund, a private donor provided another $10,000, and CrimeStoppers offered the remaining $1,000.

Investigators have reason to believe one of the brothers knew their killer(s). A cellphone and handgun belonging to Sean were taken from the Brainerd home the night of the double homicide. The handgun is believed to be the murder weapon. Investigators believe that since the killer(s) knew where to find Sean’s handgun, one of the brothers must have known that person or persons.

The stolen cellphone and handgun have not been recovered.

During the press conference General Pinkston said having a long period of time between an unsolved crime was not necessarily a bad thing because relationships change. He said people might be more willing to come forth now with information about the case than they were 19 years ago.

He encouraged the public to call or email the Cold Case Unit to come forth with anything, big or small, they might know regarding the case. In particular, the Cold Case Unit asked to hear from an unidentified female who was allegedly seen with Sean in the days leading to his death. Sean reportedly tried to help the young woman make a taillight repair to her Honda CRX the day before he died. On that day he called a friend who owned an auto shop on the woman’s behalf.

General Pinkston said this is one of the most significant cold cases because “(the unit) doesn’t often see execution style murders in this town.”

“These two boys weren’t living a lifestyle indicative of them being at high risk of violence,” Investigator Mathis said.

“It’s clearly not a random act either,” said General Pinkston.

Thursday’s press release stated, “The boys’ father, David Goetcheus, is struggling with serious health problems. He remains hopeful the case will be solved in his lifetime. With the public’s help, we can give him answers.”

General Pinkston stated they were very close to solving this case and needed the public’s help.

Anyone with information regarding the Goetcheus case should contact the Cold Case Unit by calling 423-209-7470 or emailing coldcases@hcdatn.org.