RANGER, Ga. — When Susan Rhinehart heard the gunshots outside her home, she locked herself in the bathroom and dialed 911.
About 1 p.m. Monday, Rhinehart told Gordon County dispatchers that her husband, Steve, was in his workshop behind the house when she heard the shots.
She then saw her 35-year-old son, Matthew, walking from where the shots originated, a 911 report shows.
Minutes later, Steve Rhinehart, 62, was pronounced dead with multiple bullet wounds, said Chattooga County Coroner James Carver.
Although charges haven't been filed, authorities said Matthew Rhinehart will face a murder charge. He is being held in Gordon County Jail.
About the same time Susan Rhinehart called 911 Monday, her son also made a call, 911 records show.
He told a dispatcher he had shot his dad with a pistol because his father was "coming at him and attacking him," records show. He said he found the pistol but it wasn't his.
On Tuesday, Gordon County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Robert Paris said it will be up to a jury to decide if Matthew Rhinehart was acting in self-defense. "That will be answered in court," he said.
Investigators believe there was an ongoing dispute between Matthew Rhinehart and his father, according to a sheriff's office news release.
Deputies have been called to the Rhinehart's house, located off a private dirt road named after the family, twice since 2009, records show. Both calls were about Matthew Rhinehart.
In 2009, his parents asked authorities to help find their son because he was missing.
In July 2011, Matthew Rhinehart called 911 to ask for a ride to a mental health facility, the report shows.
He told dispatchers he had a drug problem but had been clean for a year, the report states.
The Rhineharts gathered on the family property Tuesday afternoon, but no one wanted to talk about what happened.
Steve Rhinehart's body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy, Carver said.
Max Brannon and Sons Funeral Home in Calhoun, Ga., will handle the funeral arrangements.
Joy Lukachick covers crime in North Georgia for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She started working at the paper in July 2009 as an intern. Raised near the Bayou, Joy’s hometown is along the outskirts of Baton Rouge, La. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Joy was a staff writer for the Daily Reveille. When Joy isn't chasing down stories, she is a full-time supporter of ...
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