Family helps police solve Gwinnett County cold case murder mystery, officials say

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Gwinnett County police say they have charged an inmate in connection with a cold case murder that happened nearly four years ago in unincorporated Lawrenceville.

Officials say 50-year-old Carmen Marie Hunt is now charged with felony murder and aggravated assault for the death of 61-year-old Ray Neal.

Gwinnett County cold case investigation

The backstory:

Officials say Neal was found dead by his sister at his home on Lexington Drive on July 20, 2019.

Michelle Smalls told FOX 5 at the time that she had gone to check on her brother that afternoon when he didn't answer his phone. When she entered the home, she said she saw large amounts of blood on the floor, walls, and the shower curtain in the bathroom.

MORE: Police: Woman finds brother stabbed to death in Lawrenceville home

Smalls said she believed that Neal had known his killer.

"I know it was someone he knew because he didn’t let anyone in his house," she said.

Funeral home discovery leads to reclassification of Neal's death

Dig deeper:

Sgt. Micah Hegwood, a cold-case investigator with the Gwinnett County Police Department, said back then police called Neal’s death a homicide, but the medical examiner’s office made a different call.

"We did believe it was a homicide based on what they saw on Ray Neal’s neck. Initially, it was thought to have been natural when the M.E. took a first look," Hegwood said.

An employee at Byrd and Flanagan Funeral Home found evidence suggesting Neal was murdered. "The body was released to the funeral home, but the funeral home took a closer look at the wounds and ended up calling back and saying this looks like something else," Hegwood said.

An autopsy revealed a homicide. The chief medical examiner’s investigator in 2019 said Neal, who was 61, had medical issues and medication may have added to bleeding and confusion.

"Could have clotting issues and therefore would bleed a little bit freer than normal," said Eddie Reeves, the then-chief medical examiner investigator with the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The county now privately contracts with forensic pathology services pc. A spokesperson on Thursday said an investigator with the medical examiner’s office made the initial finding. "It was the autopsy completed by the medical examiner that led to the certification of the appropriate characterization of the cause and manner of death," wrote Melissa Cape, executive secretary of Forensic Pathology Services, P.C., in an email.

Ray Neal's family never gave up

What they're saying:

The case had remained unsolved for years, leaving Neal's family in distress. "It's just been hard trying to figure out what happened and who did it," said Ashli Haynes, the victim's niece.

The family faced years of uncertainty, questioning who they could trust and why no one had come forward with information. "You don’t know who to trust, you don’t know who knows what," Haynes expressed. "Why didn’t anybody come forward? Why didn’t anybody say anything?"

The turning point came when the family received tips from the neighborhood, which they relayed to investigators. "People kind of put it together in the neighborhood and started giving us calls and giving their ideas of what they thought happened," Haynes explained.

Sgt. Micah Hegwood, a cold-case investigator with the Gwinnett County Police Department, confirmed that the family’s tip led them to suspect Carmen Hunt. "They said they thought Carmen Hunt may have done it," Hegwood stated.

Hunt, who is already behind bars for a separate stabbing incident in 2022, was linked to Neal's murder through forensic evidence. "She had done the same thing to someone else and was currently in our jail," Hegwood noted. The similarities between the two crimes were striking, with both involving a large kitchen knife. "In both cases, the same weapon was used," Hegwood said, adding that a bloody fingerprint found at the scene matched Hunt's.

Despite the arrest, Haynes acknowledges the family's ongoing grief. "I don’t know if we’re ever going to be relieved because we lost someone senselessly. I think it’s a sense of peace, yes," she said.

Carmen Marie Hunt investigated

What we know:

The case remained under investigation for years until 2024, when a family member called the Gwinnett County Cold Case Unit.

The family member identified Hunt as a possible suspect, and said that she was in custody at the Gwinnett County Jail after a stabbing in 2022, officials said.

After reviewing security footage, conducting new interviews, and reexamining fingerprints from the crime scene, investigators brought Hunt in for questioning. After that, authorities charged Hunt with Neal's murder.

Hunt remains in custody at the Gwinnett County Jail on the 2022 charges and the new warrants. 

What we don't know:

Authorities have not released any information about the motive behind the deadly violence or how they believe Hunt and Neal may have known each other.

What you can do:

If you have any information that could help with the investigation, call the Gwinnett County Police Department.

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