The Georgia Bureau of Investigation did not initially open a probe because the Glynn County Police Department didn't request the bureau's help, though it did request assistance investigating threats against the GCPD and the release of Tuesday's video, according to the bureau. Hours later, the GBI said Durden had formally requested an investigation into Arbery's killing.
Video captures the grisly confrontation
Shortly before Durden's and the GBI's announcements, a local radio personality released a video that appears to show Arbery's killing. The captured events match numerous accounts of the shooting -- including, in many respects -- that of Merritt, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill and, as chronicled in the police report, Greg McMichael. CNN has not verified who recorded the video. The 36-second clip shows the end of the chase and the shooting. It has sound, but only the shotgun blasts are clearly audible. Arbery's and the McMichaels' words, if any were exchanged, cannot be heard. It is not clear what happened before the video begins or after it ends. Taken from inside a vehicle behind Arbery, it begins with Arbery jogging down the middle of the street toward a truck. Greg McMichael is in the back of the truck and his son, Travis, is standing near the hood, according to the Glynn County police report, which does not mention the video. As Arbery approaches the truck, he veers into someone's yard to go around the truck blocking his path. As he passes the truck, he makes a sharp left and tussles with Travis McMichael over the shotgun.
Greg McMichael and his son, Travis, told police they thought Arbery was a criminal. A shot goes off, and the two disappear off the left side of the screen as Arbery appears to throw a punch. Greg McMichael, still standing in the truck bed, produces a handgun but doesn't fire. A second shot is heard off-screen. As they come back into view, both clutching the shotgun, a third shot goes off just as Arbery lands a punch to Travis McMichael's head. Arbery recoils. Blood appears on his white T-shirt, below his left ribcage. He stumbles and drops face-first to the street. Travis McMichael walks away, shotgun in hand, as his father runs toward Arbery with his handgun.The first shot went through Arbery's right palm, consistent with Arbery grabbing the gun barrel, Barnhill wrote. The second shot is consistent with Travis McMichael "attempting to push the gun away from Arbery while Arbery was pulling it toward himself. The third shot, too, appears to be in a struggle over the gun," the prosecutor wrote. Greg McMichael had blood on his hands when police arrived, observed a Glynn County police officer, who concluded in his report that the blood came from Greg McMichael turning Arbery's body over to check for weapons. The report does not say any were found.
It was self-defense, recused prosecutor says
Barnhill, the second prosecutor to step down in the case, said he did so only at Arbery's mother's behest. She claimed he had a conflict of interests, he wrote. The district attorney's son is a prosecutorial investigator with the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, from which Greg McMichael retired after serving with the Glynn County Police Department. (The Brunswick circuit's district attorney was the first to recuse herself.)Though Barnhill saw no conflict, he wrote, he agreed to step down. In doing so, he wrote an April 2 letter saying the McMichaels and William Bryan, a third man involved who is listed as a witness in the police report, engaged in "hot pursuit" and had "solid first-hand probable cause," as civilians, to detain Arbery."It appears their intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. Under Georgia law, this is perfectly legal," Barnhill wrote, citing state code that says civilians can arrest someone if they have immediate knowledge of an offense or if a perpetrator is trying to flee after committing a felony.
The homeowner has gone and posted several footage of what looks like Amdmed walking through the house. But he doesn't take anything and doesn't try to be discreet.
Yes he was trespassing but I think he was more curious about the house than trying to steal something.
This is a short story. I couldn’t find a lot of information on David Barwick but I think that even though there isn’t a ton of information on a case it still deserves to be told.
On June 13, 2014, David Barwick died in his brother’s arms after being shot while walking down the street in Jacksonville, Florida. David and his brother were walking home from Judy’s Pub on the west side of town when the shooting occurred.
David Barwick would do anything for another person. “He would help you out, but the second he needed help, he wouldn’t ask or expect anything in return,” his sister Melissa Babcock said. She described her brother, lovingly, as “the hard-headed kind.”
Barwick doesn’t have an opportunity to ask for help anymore, but help is exactly what his family needs now.
On June 13, 2014, David Barwick and his brother James spent a few hours at Judy’s Pub on the westside of Jacksonville, Florida. At 2:00 the following morning, the brothers left the bar on foot to head home.
Roughly a mile down the road, David was shot multiple times, per the family. James held his younger brother as they waited for help, but David would pass away in his arms.
David Barwick was 33. He left behind two sons who were 14 and 9 at the time.
Babcock remembers her brother David fondly. “We made memories everywhere we went,” she recalls, with a smile.
David Barwick walked his sister Melissa down the aisle at her wedding. (image via Melissa Babcock)
The Barwick children spent their childhoods collecting experiences and creating lasting memories with their family. Babcock shares story after story of the retreats to Suwannee Springs, sibling competitions like swimming races, camping out in nature, and certainly, lots of laughter. Babcock nurtures those same traditions with her own children with yearly trips back to Suwannee during the summers.
David “loved to laugh, be around friends, cook out, sit around a fire with friends and family,” Babcock says of her brother. “He loved his family.”
David walked his sister Melissa down the aisle for her wedding and was present when her first child was born. “My son just turned 19 and David should’ve been here to celebrate with us. David was there when he was born!” Melissa said.
Time since David’s death has been difficult, especially as the family recently hit the five-year mark with no resolution. His two boys and their grandmother celebrate his birthday with a balloon release each year.
For Melissa, she reflects on her childhood for comfort. Remembering the times when she and her brothers would enjoy the luxuries their grandparents offered, showering the kids with food and love. David loved his grandmother’s cooking so much, he would often be found at her table.
While the Barwick family looks to law enforcement for answers, they have a hard time understanding why such tragedy happened to their family. “It doesn’t begin to make sense,” Babcock said. She shares her multiple attempts to get answers only to be met with silence. She works diligently to ensure that her brother’s case will be solved.
She hopes to one day bring some sort of peace to the family. “Our father is dying,” Melissa said. “I want to bring him peace of mind so bad, but I can’t,” she cried.
“I miss his smile, his jokes, his laughter – everything. He was just a good person,” Babcock said.
If you have any information on the unsolved murder of David Barwick, please call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a $3,000 reward, call First Coast Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-TIPS.
