August death of Moultrie resident probed

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, October 26, 2016

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The August death of a Moultrie man who died in the hospital two weeks after he was found unconscious near his bicycle is under investigation.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that it is looking into the death of Connell Bernard Ponder.

Moultrie police were dispatched at about 1:22 a.m. Aug. 6 to the 500 block of 11th Court Southeast to what initially appeared to be a bicycle fall.

A bystander, and then police officers, administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the 63-year-old Ponder until emergency medical personnel arrived.

Ponder died  on Aug. 21 at Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville.

The Observer requested a copy of death records from the Colquitt County Coroner’s Office, which listed Ponder’s death as a homicide.

The death certificate listed the cause of death as resulting from blunt force head trauma “in conjunction with cocaine toxicity.”

The GBI is conducting a “death investigation” into Ponder’s death, said Jamy Steinberg, special agent in charge of the agency’s Thomasville office.

“We’re just looking into it, following up on some leads, waiting for some lab results,” he said. “It’s still an open investigation.”