NATIONAL BRIEFING / GEORGIA
Relatives of a Georgia man charged with killing his father and seven others in a mobile home said he would never harm his family. The suspect’s brother speculated that a dispute over drugs could have prompted the killings.
Family members spoke to reporters outside a graveside funeral in Townsend for seven of the victims slain a week earlier.
Their grief was mixed with shock after authorities charged Guy Heinze Jr., 22, on Friday with eight counts of murder in the deaths of his father, uncle, aunt and four cousins.
The eighth victim was a boyfriend of one of the cousins, and his funeral arrangements are pending.
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