15-year murder case solved

March 14, 2023

Courtney Goins,

MURRAY COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — Fifteen years later, the GBI arrested a man for the murder of Lance Jay Banister of Acworth. Investigators found his body in Chatsworth in 2008.

Shannon Tapley

The GBI said they arrested 43-year-old Shannon Tapley on Sunday. They are charging him with murder.

Lance Banister was 20 years old at the time of his death, according to the GBI.

Investigators said Banister and Tapley were friends at the time of Banister’s disappearance. They said they were also together the day that Banister disappeared.

Banister’s mother reported him missing on March 15, 2008. She told officers that he left with friends and never returned.

Police started the investigation on March 28, 2008. After being missing for three weeks, Banister’s body was found at Talking Rock Creek at Carters Lake.

Officials never stated how Banister’s body ended up in Chatsworth, having come from Acworth.

Now, police are holding Tapley in the Bartow County Jail.

The Murray County Sheriff’s Office, TBI agents from the Dalton Safe Streets Task Force, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office and GBI agents all assisted in the investigation.