George Zinkhan, a marketing professor at the University of Georgia, is still believed to be on the run after killing three people on April 25, 2009 at a community theater in Athens, GA. The shooting occurred at the Athens Community Theatre, a staple in the community for over 50 years, where the group Town & Gown Players were hosting their annual reunion picnic.
Zinkhan killed his wife, Marie Bruce, 47, and theater members Ben Teague, 63, and Tom Tanner, 40. The couple have two young children who were dropped off with neighbors by Zinkhan before the shooting. Authorities believe Zinkhan and Bruce were having marriage troubles, but there was some confusion as to whether the couple were separated or not.
UGA Professor on the Run, Possibly Dead
Directly after the shooting, Zinkhan fled the scene and has not been seen since. Police have reported that he has relatives in Austin, TX, and a home in Amsterdam, but he seems to have left behind no trail. He did buy a plane ticket to Amsterdam and police say his passport was missing from his home in Bogart, GA, but the ticket was purchased before the shooting and police do not believe he will be on the May 2nd flight. At this point, authorities are not sure if he is even alive or dead.
In an effort to capture him, the Athens Banner-Herald reports that Fox’s program America’s Most Wanted will showcase Zinkhan on their May 16th broadcast. The show is hosted by John Walsh, whose son was murdered in 1981, and has helped capture thousands of criminals over its run.
Zinkhan's Pending Separation Likely the Motive
Zinkhan was a respected professor at UGA and had been a member of the faculty for 15 years. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, neighbors called the professor reclusive, but no one seemed to be aware of any indication that he was capable of murder. The best guess by the police so far is that the possible separation between Bruce and Zinkhan was the motive, and police suspect the murders were more calulated than previously thought.
After arrests of a pre-med student believed to be the Craigslist Killer earlier this month, numerous family murder-suicides, and now a shooting by a respected university professor, many are on edge with the number of shootings in the United States this year.
Zinkhan’s Poetry Gives Clues
Zinkhan had written poetry that may have given clues to his nature. Here is an excerpt from one of the pieces he published on the American Marketing Association website, which has since been taken down:
“sailing on the accountancy”
the dark department head is always lurking,
making the rounds with a crooked, yankee-trader smile,
full of false promise about a better time to come
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