Linda Heidt is the Georgia woman who survived a shotgun blast to the face in August 2008, in the same nighttime attack that killed her husband Philip and her younger son Carey inside the family’s Springfield home. The gunman was her older son, Craig Heidt, who was convicted of the murders in 2010. Linda testified at his trial and maintained he was innocent even after the jury returned guilty verdicts on all eleven counts.
The Night of the Attack
Sometime after midnight on August 25, 2008, an intruder let himself into the Heidt home on Springfield-Egypt Road using a spare key hidden under the carport. He carried a 12-gauge shotgun. He shot Carey Heidt, 32, in his bed, then moved to the master bedroom, where Philip and Linda were sleeping.1FindLaw. Heidt v. State
Linda was awake, working on a word-find puzzle in the adjoining master bathroom. She heard a loud blast and walked toward the bedroom, calling her husband’s name. “Philip was shot. Then I saw a flash, and I was shot,” she later testified.2Effingham Herald. Linda Heidt Takes the Stand The blast hit the left side of her face and passed through her right shoulder from a range of about two feet. A medical examiner concluded she probably survived only because she turned her head at the moment of impact.3CBS News. Affair Leads to Shocking Georgia Double Murder
She blacked out. When she came to, she saw her own teeth on the floor. The bedroom phone line was dead. Her mouth had been destroyed, but she made her way to the kitchen, found her cell phone in her purse, and dialed 911. The operators struggled to understand her. She told them she had been shot, asked for help, and said she did not know whether the gunman was still inside.2Effingham Herald. Linda Heidt Takes the Stand
Before leaving, the attacker had drenched the house in gasoline. The fumes were strong enough to be smelled from the road, and deputies later slipped on the wet floors. He also broke a window, apparently to stage the scene as a burglary, but left the spare key in the lock. The gasoline was never ignited; prosecutors theorized the killer panicked and fled when he heard Linda’s 911 call.4Savannah Morning News. Craig Heidt Murder Trial Testimony: Linda Heidt Cried for Help
Linda was taken to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. Her jaw was wired shut and she could not speak to investigators for weeks. She has said she remembers nothing between the ambulance ride and waking up in her hospital room roughly four weeks later.5Effingham Herald. Linda Heidt Takes the StandHeidt v. State
Philip Heidt, 59, and Carey Heidt, 32, were dead. Linda was the only survivor in the house.
The Family Conflict Behind the Shootings
The Heidts were a well-known Effingham County family. Philip was a real estate developer active in the local Chamber of Commerce; Carey worked with him at Coldwell Banker Intercoastal Realty in Rincon. Associates described both as “well-known, well-respected, and well-liked.”6Savannah Morning News. Decade Passes Since Heidt Murders That Shook Effingham Craig, Philip’s older son, was 41 and less involved in the business.
In April 2008, Craig began a sexual relationship with Carey’s wife, Robin. The affair quickly became an open secret in the family. Carey told Craig he would never allow it to continue and that Craig would “never have anything to do” with Carey and Robin’s three children. Philip sided with Carey and told Robin to “re-evaluate her life.”7WTOC. Robin Heidt
In the weeks before the murders, Philip and Carey hired a business associate with a helicopter to surveil Craig and Robin at a hunting cabin near Oliver, Georgia, using a GPS tracker Carey had placed on Robin’s SUV. The flyover enraged Craig and triggered a fight between Carey and Robin that led Carey to move temporarily into his parents’ house, the first time in 13 years he had stayed there without his wife.8Savannah Morning News. Georgia Supreme Court Upholds Craig Heidt Murder Convictions
A family friend, Loretta Brower, testified that days before the shootings Craig came into his parents’ den carrying a gun and threatened to shoot Carey. Philip intervened and warned Craig: “Son, if you don’t quit drinking and doing drugs and messing around with Robin, I’ll cut you out of the will.”9Effingham Herald. Family Friend Says Guns Were Drawn in Argument
Philip acted on the threat. On August 22, 2008, three days before the murders, he signed a new will reducing Craig’s inheritance from one-third to one-ninth of the estate, with that reduced share placed in a trust for the grandchildren.10Savannah Morning News. Heidt Will Changed Just Days Before Murders Separately, Carey had moved in mid-August to remove Robin as the beneficiary of his $3.5 million life insurance policy and redirect the funds to a trust for his children.11Savannah Morning News. Heidt Trial: Attorneys Testify
Craig’s Arrest and the Case Against Him
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation interviewed more than 100 people over nine months.12Statesboro Herald. Effingham Co. Man Arrested in Double Homicide Craig was a person of interest from the start, both because of the affair and because he was one of only a few people who knew where the spare key was hidden.
Before investigators had publicly identified the weapon, Craig volunteered that his own 12-gauge shotgun, boots, and gas can were missing. Unspent 12-gauge shells found in his truck were consistent with the casing recovered from Carey’s body. He had bruises on his upper arms consistent with shotgun recoil. About a week before the killings, he had toured land with a realtor and said he “soon would be coming into some money” from an inheritance.1FindLaw. Heidt v. State
Craig was arrested on May 22, 2009, and later indicted on eleven counts, including two counts of murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, burglary, attempted arson, and three firearm counts.13WTOC. Craig Heidt Indicted for Murdering His Father and Brother
Linda’s Testimony and Her Belief in Craig’s Innocence
Craig’s trial began on December 1, 2010, in Effingham County Superior Court. Prosecutor Michael Muldrew told jurors the killings were driven by “lust and greed.”6Savannah Morning News. Decade Passes Since Heidt Murders That Shook Effingham
Linda was the final witness. She described hearing the blast, walking toward the bedroom, calling for Philip, and seeing the flash that struck her. She said she did not see the shooter’s face. On the 911 recording, when the operator asked who shot her, she had answered, “I don’t know.”4Savannah Morning News. Craig Heidt Murder Trial Testimony: Linda Heidt Cried for Help
She also read aloud a letter Philip had written to Craig on August 10, 2008, and never mailed. “Don’t be distant and let life pass you by. I know you are in pain a lot. You need your family and your family needs you.”14Bryan County News. Deliberations to Begin in Heidt Murder Trial
Linda acknowledged that parts of her memory were “fuzzy.” She also told the court her son was not the killer. She told CBS News she had looked Craig in the eye and he had denied involvement. “I know my child. I know the heart he has. He does not have a cold-blooded heart,” she said.3CBS News. Affair Leads to Shocking Georgia Double Murder Asked on the stand whether she had helped kill Philip and Carey, she answered, “No.”
On December 9, 2010, after a two-week trial, the jury convicted Craig on all eleven counts.15Effingham Herald. Guilty on All Counts Judge F. Gates Peed sentenced him to two consecutive life terms for the murders plus 85 additional years on the remaining counts.16Statesboro Herald. Heidt Receives Sentence for Murders The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the convictions on January 7, 2013.17Jacksonville.com. Georgia High Court Upholds Murder Conviction of Man Who Killed Father
Linda told CBS News she was in shock when the verdict was read. “Oh my Lord, no way. This can’t be happening.” She visited Craig in jail that evening.3CBS News. Affair Leads to Shocking Georgia Double Murder Muldrew, speaking after sentencing, called her “one of the most wonderful people you’ll ever meet.”
Life After the Trial
In December 2011, a court granted Linda temporary primary custody of Carey’s three children, and Robin, who by then had remarried and was known as Robin Heidt Cave, was ordered to pay $2,904 in support. Cave was briefly arrested on contempt charges after a payment made with money orders drawn from the children’s Social Security benefits bounced and arrived 93 minutes late.18Savannah Morning News. Defense Says Gun Could Have Changed Heidt Outcome A court eventually ordered joint custody, and Robin moved with her new husband and the children to Charleston, South Carolina.3CBS News. Affair Leads to Shocking Georgia Double Murder
In a 2012 interview, Linda described her recovery as slow. “I see life. I see hope. I see love. I see truth. I see justice. And one day, peace.” Craig Heidt remains in prison, serving two life sentences plus 85 years.