Missing
Judson Lee Fielding
Fielding, approximately 1994; Leo Lamont Utley
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/04/1994
Missing location (approx) :
Richmond County, Georgia
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
Black
DOB : 01/01/1954 (67)
Age at the time of disappearance: 40 years old
Height / Weight : 6'1, 180 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Fielding was last seen leaving his children's residence at Delta Manor in Richmond County, Georgia on December 4, 1994. He left his jacket behind, although the weather was cold. His four children believe he may have not intended to be gone long.
Fielding has never been heard from again. He was living with his mother at the time of his disappearance, after having served a two-year prison term for a drug charge. He had left his mother's home on the evening of his disappearance to visit his children.
In December 2005, Leo Lamont Utley was charged with murdering Fielding and another man, Charles Joseph Winfield. A photo of Utley is posted with this case summary. He has also been implicated in the deaths of two others, Lonnie Moore and an unknown associate, although he was never charged in connection with those murders. Authorities believe the four victims were killed at the behest of Willie Carl Hankerson Jr.
Hankerson, Fielding and Winfield, had been arrested after PCP, an illegal hallucinogenic drug, was found in their vehicle at a traffic stop. Winfield and Fielding cooperated with authorities and testified against Hankerson before the grand jury, and were scheduled to testify a second time at his trial. Fielding and Winfield disappeared before the trial; as a result, Hankerson's indictment was dismissed.
Fielding had told his family he was afraid for his life and that someone was after him. Authorities believe Hankerson paid Utley $100,000 to kill Fielding and Winfield so they could not testify against him. Winfield, Moore and the other alleged victim are all missing like Fielding, but their photographs and vital statistics are unavailable.
Hankerson was charged in federal court with four counts of murder as part of a continuing criminal enterprise several years after the men disappeared. He pleaded guilty in June 2002.
Utley committed suicide on Christmas Day, several days after his arrest, by hanging himself in his cell. Authorities stated that his death had brought the case to a close and no further investigations were going to be made in Fielding's case.
Fielding is a former Marine. He was trying to lead a respectable life after a long downward spiral of drugs and prison, and had plans to get a truck driver's license. Although his remains have never been found, foul play is strongly suspected in his case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Richmond County Sheriff's Office
706-821-1020
706-821-1080
September 2021 updates and sources
The Augusta Chronicle
Richmond County Sheriff's Office
NewsLibrary
WRDW News 12
October 12, 2004. December 8, 2017; DOB : , Height / Weight : added, date of disappearance and Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: updated.
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