Update: Blake Chappell

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1:58discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:09Today, I'm talking about an update in a case that I covered back in 2022. It was episode 53 of this podcast. And that is the case of Blake Chappelle out of Noonan, Georgia. If you guys don't remember, Blake was only 17 when he went missing in October 2011 after attending his homecoming dance. His remains were found in a nearby creek two months later, and the autopsy did confirm that he died from a gunshot wound to the head, and his death was ruled a homicide. And today, September 12, 2025, there is breaking news that an arrest has been made in his case. It appears that 38-year-old Scotty Elliott Smith has confessed to murdering Blake.

2:51He has been taken into custody and charged with multiple felonies, including felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, concealing the death of another, and tampering with evidence. Now this really does appear to have come out of nowhere, at least from what we've been told in the media. According to a news release from the Noonan Police Department, this man was not previously investigated. Now, earlier this year, there was some news in Blake's case that search warrants were being served in the Sharpsburg area. They also said that they collected new evidence and handed it over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, but we don't know if that's related to Scotty Elliott Smith just yet.

3:32Again, all we really know at this point is that he has confessed, he's been arrested, and he was not previously investigated. The Noonan Police Department has also made it clear that this is still an ongoing investigation. If anyone has additional information, they are requesting that you reach out to Detective Marco Gonzalez or Lieutenant Chris Robinson at 770-254-2355. Again, that is all we know right now, but I did want to bring you this update as soon as I could about Blake's case. And if you do want to learn more, because this does seem to have come out of basically nowhere, you can listen to the entire episode I did on him in 2022 back in episode 53.

4:13I will have that linked in the show notes. But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.

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