Jackson Progress-Argus

Photo by Mike Davis

A manhunt for a suspect believed to have killed his wife and her 10-year-old niece in their Butts County home ended Sunday, when the man turned himself in to the Henry County Jail with his pastor, authorities said.

Herman Lenard Jackson III, 43, faces charges of murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the deaths of his wife, 41-year-old Penny Phillips, and Phillips' 10-year-old niece, who investigators say she had adopted.

Jackson appeared in Magistrate Court Monday morning, to hear the charges against him. Butts County Sheriff's Lt. Timothy Filbeck said the charges were bound over to Superior Court, and that Jackson asked for an attorney to be appointed to represent him.

Butts County Sheriff Gene Pope said Phillips and the child were found dead Saturday morning in the couple's home, which is located at 151 Southern Shores Road.

Investigators put out a lookout for a white 2003 Ford F-150 extended-cab pickup with no tag that Jackson may have been driving.

The pickup was found later Saturday afternoon, at a convenience store near the intersection of Keys Ferry Road and Ga. Highway 81. Investigators said when they reviewed the store's security video, they saw the pickup pull in a little before 4 a.m., Saturday.

Pope said it appeared both victims had been killed with a knife sometime between 2 a.m., Saturday, and daylight. He said authorities were called about mid-morning, after one of the children in the home could not get a response at the couple's bedroom door and went inside. Pope said the 10-year-old victim was found in her bedroom nearby.