Two days after a woman was found dead in a closet at her home, a man accused in the stabbing death of the Raintree Apartment Complex woman is in custody.
Richard Geiger, 54, was found Thursday “in a field, headed for the woods,” as Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Hinesville Police arrived at a relative’s home on Black Creek Church Road behind Southeast Bulloch High School in Brooklet, according to BCSO Chief Deputy Gene McDaniel.
Geiger is suspected of delivering a deadly single stab wound near the heart of his 50-year-old girlfriend, Rosie Smith, following a dispute in her Saunders Avenue apartment Tuesday night.
Investigators believe the suspect was in the apartment when Smith arrived home after parting ways with her estranged husband of 10 years, Larry, who stopped at a convenience store as the pair headed to the apartment in the evening.
HPD Chief of Detectives Maj. Thomas Cribbs said a domestic dispute between Smith and Geiger ensued and the stabbing allegedly took place during the argument.
Witnesses standing outside the building watched someone fitting Geiger’s description flee the scene on foot near the time of the stabbing.
Larry Smith, only in town a few hours after arriving from Fayetteville, N.C. to find work in the area, came home just after 8 p.m. to find his wife’s body lying partially inside a hallway closet.
An arrest warrant was issued for Geiger on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning, BCSO received an anonymous tip the suspect was visiting family members in Brooklet.
Officials recognized his face from media reports and previous dealings with local law enforcement.
Cribbs said Geiger’s arrest and handover went “very easily” and “without incident.”
He noted two weeks prior to Smith’s death, she was accused of stabbing the suspect, but denied the incident.
“In that case, it was an ongoing investigation and we could not find him (Geiger) in the meantime to talk with him,” Cribbs said.
The detective said at this point in time it is unclear if Geiger was seeking retaliation when he confronted Smith.
Geiger will have a first appearance in magistrate court on Friday. He is expected to have his bond denied.
Richard Geiger, 54, was found Thursday “in a field, headed for the woods,” as Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Hinesville Police arrived at a relative’s home on Black Creek Church Road behind Southeast Bulloch High School in Brooklet, according to BCSO Chief Deputy Gene McDaniel.
Geiger is suspected of delivering a deadly single stab wound near the heart of his 50-year-old girlfriend, Rosie Smith, following a dispute in her Saunders Avenue apartment Tuesday night.
Investigators believe the suspect was in the apartment when Smith arrived home after parting ways with her estranged husband of 10 years, Larry, who stopped at a convenience store as the pair headed to the apartment in the evening.
HPD Chief of Detectives Maj. Thomas Cribbs said a domestic dispute between Smith and Geiger ensued and the stabbing allegedly took place during the argument.
Witnesses standing outside the building watched someone fitting Geiger’s description flee the scene on foot near the time of the stabbing.
Larry Smith, only in town a few hours after arriving from Fayetteville, N.C. to find work in the area, came home just after 8 p.m. to find his wife’s body lying partially inside a hallway closet.
An arrest warrant was issued for Geiger on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning, BCSO received an anonymous tip the suspect was visiting family members in Brooklet.
Officials recognized his face from media reports and previous dealings with local law enforcement.
Cribbs said Geiger’s arrest and handover went “very easily” and “without incident.”
He noted two weeks prior to Smith’s death, she was accused of stabbing the suspect, but denied the incident.
“In that case, it was an ongoing investigation and we could not find him (Geiger) in the meantime to talk with him,” Cribbs said.
The detective said at this point in time it is unclear if Geiger was seeking retaliation when he confronted Smith.
Geiger will have a first appearance in magistrate court on Friday. He is expected to have his bond denied.