The Murder of Sam Poss
For this case I watched an episode of Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall. It’s season 6 episode 7, titled ‘Driven to Murder.’
An 18 year old is killed in a small town, where murder is uncommon.
Background
Sam Poss
Sam at his graduation
Sam Poss was an 18 year from Perry, Georgia. Perry is a small community, most known for it’s military community.
Sam lived with his dad Chris and brother, but was also very close to his mom, Nicole. Sam’s parents said he had a passion for video games and coding. He and a close friend created a computer software for the gaming community.
Sam was also very smart, had a passion for learning and helping people. Sam’s dad said he would drop everything to help those closest to him.
The Disappearance
On October 14, 2016, Chris came home from a game night around 2am. He went to Sam’s room to check on him, and discovered Sam was not there. He had left his computer and phone behind. Chris said this wasn’t uncommon because Sam wasn’t on his phone as much as other teenagers.
Sam didn’t have his drivers license, so Chris thought a friend came to pick him up. Sam was independent and would often walk to different friend’s houses to play video games.
Friday turned into Saturday, and Chris didn’t hear anything from Sam. On Sunday, Chris started his own investigation. Chris called Sam’s friend Zack Chafin, and Zack said he hadn’t heard from him. Chris decided to look at Sam’s computer too, and found a message from Sam’s friend Dakota White.
Dakota had sent Sam a message asking him to come over to help him with a video. Sam said yes, and Dakota told him he’d pick him up. Chris went by Dakota’s, and Dakota said he saw Sam on Friday, and that Sam walked home around 1:30am.
Chris and Dakota decided to walk the path that Sam would take to get home, and nothing was found. Chris called the police to report his son missing.
Investigation
Captain Heath Dykes of the Perry police department went to interview Chris and Nicole Poss. Chris and Nicole said it wasn’t uncommon for Sam to walk home, and they said everyone loved him.
Nicole did bring up something from Sam’s past as a possible theory. Nicole told the police that Sam was molested when he was four years old, by his sixteen year old cousin, Ryan. Nicole reported it, and this changed her relationship with her in-laws.
Ryan pleaded guilty to aggravated child molestation and was sentenced to ten years probation. He was also told to stay away from Sam.
The police brought Ryan in for questioning. Ryan said he hadn’t seen Sam in ten years, and was at home with his parents. Ryan’s parents confirmed this and he was ruled out.
The Search
The police were back to square one. The police decided to have a search in the wooded area where Sam would have walked home. They had search dogs and Georgia State police helicopters help with it. Captain Dykes said there was about 30-40 people helping as well.
The police set up a command between Sam and Dakota’s homes. On October 17, the police spotted someone walking through the woods. The police followed him and found him hiding by an abandoned barn. The person was identified as Jonathan Waltrop. Jonathan went to school with Sam, and he said he was just trying to help. Jonathan did have an alibi for October 14, and was eventually ruled out.
A New Suspect
On October 19, 2016, around 5:56pm, the police received an anonymous call. The caller said that he knew who was involved in Sam’s disappearance. They said they saw this individual at a car wash for four hours the day after Sam went missing. The caller said the individual’s name was Dakota White. The same Dakota that helped Chris search just days earlier.
The police needed to take a closer look at Dakota, and a search warrant was obtained for Dakota’s car.
The police also learned that Dakota had a tumultuous childhood. His dad was in prison, and his mom had substance abuse problems. Dakota bounced around from home to home of his relatives. When Sam disappeared, Dakota lived on Tucker Road, with his grandparents.
Sam’s friend Zack was interviewed in this episode, and he said that Dakota and Sam weren’t close, but were friendly. He said the three of them would hangout more than the two of them would alone, but they all bonded over video games.
Zack was asked if he knew anything about Dakota’s childhood, and he said yes. He said Dakota had lived with his aunt and uncle recently, and that they were strict. Dakota had become depressed, and three weeks before Sam disappeared, Dakota tried to kill himself.
Zack also said Dakota had a short fuse, and would lash out at people he didn’t like.
A Tough Decision
The weekend that Sam disappeared, Dakota’s aunt Diana and uncle Jonathan were out of town. They said when they came home, there was helicopters and GBI vehicles in their neighborhood. They asked the police what was going on, and the police told them a teenager disappeared.
They did some of their own research, and found out that Dakota was the last person to see Sam. They were stunned.
On October 19, the same day as the anonymous call, Diana said her sister, Dakota’s mom, kept calling her. Dakota’s mom finally came over and said that Dakota told her he was involved in this. The White family decided to turn in Dakota.
Dakota’s Confession
Around 11pm, on October 19, Captain Dykes called Det. Jason Jones. He told Det. Jones to go and arrest Dakota White.
Det. Jones questioned Dakota, and Dakota confessed almost immediately. Dakota was described as being cool and calm, and just started talking. Dakota said he was having bad thoughts, and that Sam wasn’t alive. Dakota also said he had help from his friend named Brandon Warren.
Dakota said he and Brandon plotted to hurt someone and then they made a suicide pact. The original plan wasn’t to kill Sam, they had talked about driving around for a random victim and even to do a home invasion. Dakota said he knew Sam would come over, so he messaged him on October 14.
Brandon Warren was a senior, who also had dark thoughts. Zack said Brandon had been abused by his family, and would make comments about killing them. Brandon was also known to write about murder on Facebook.
Dakota White, Brandon Warren and Brandon’s disturbing Facebook post.
The police arrested Brandon at 3am, on October 20. Brandon wasn’t as talkative and asked for a lawyer.
The Full Story
Dakota said that he and Brandon picked up Sam at 12:30am on the 14th. They drove back to Dakota’s, but before Sam could get out of the car, they attacked him. Dakota said he used a wire to strangle Sam, but that it broke. Sam asked what they were doing, and Dakota said I’m sorry. Dakota used his arm to finish, and Brandon stabbed Sam with a knife.
The police asked Dakota where Sam’s body was, and Dakota said it was in the back of Lake Joy Village, in an animal dump site. The police couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
The police needed to find Sam’s body, so they took Dakota to the spot. The police walked around, while Dakota was in the car talking to them on the phone. Sam’s body was located, along with the evidence.
Sam’s blood was also found in Dakota’s car. It had soaked into the cushion in the front passenger seat.
Dakota also said after they killed Sam, they didn’t talk about the suicide pact again.
Convictions
In the spring of 2018, Dakota White and Brandon Warren were found guilty of malice murder and concealing a death. They were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Other
Chris Poss said he doesn’t know how Dakota could have helped him search for Sam, knowing full well that he was gone.
Dakota White has appealed his life sentence, but he is currently still serving a life sentence.
FINAL THOUGHTS
These teenagers are so cruel and disgusting. Having a bad childhood doesn’t give you the right to take someone’s life. I’m just as shocked as the police were, when Dakota was giving his statement, he showed no emotion and was even smiling.
It’s so tragic that an 18 year old, who had his whole life ahead of him was killed. I still don’t understand what their reasoning was. I think they wanted to kill someone, and as the police said they wanted to control someone for a few minutes. They deserve to rot in prison and never get out.
Sources
https://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article210767509.html
https://meaww.com/suicide-pact-teens-sam-poss-murder-georgia
