Investigator Clay Bryant will be Georgia Writers Museum’s Crime & Wine presenter of his new book, The Cold Case Murder of Fred Wilkerson, beginning at 7 p.m. June 25, with doors open a half hour earlier.
Previous Crime & Wine events focused on unsolved cold cases the audience tries to solve. The series has attracted more than 200 visitors to the museum in the last year alone. This time, Bryant and interviewer Sheryl McCollum will be talking about a solved case.
According to Bryant, the main attribute needed to solve a cold case is possessing the intense desire to right the most grievous wrong that can be inflicted on a victim, and upon all those who suffer greatly from it peripherally.
A successful investigator needs to be willing to pick up the personal baggage of those left behind, he says, including the anger, frustration, unknowing, outrage, and often a terrible feeling of abandonment.
It’s essential to get to know the victim and the survivors on a personal level and accept the baggage, Bryant claims because in it will be found the inspiration to pursue justice. It also can cause you to lose a lot of sleep and resort to writing books on sleepless nights, he adds.
GWM recently asked Bryant what attracts him to the world of solving cold cases, and he acknowledges his work has resulted in closure for some.
However, he also considers that to be a profound overstatement.
“I don’t think anyone that has lost someone to an unsolved murder finds closure. Even after the crime is solved there will be holidays, birthdays, and remembrances of special events. So many things will come up time and again that will not allow closure,” he acknowledges.
Still, Bryant says he does hope the fact that justice is finally served does help those left behind to find at least some sense of peace.
“In my professional life, I have found no greater pleasure than looking into the eyes of a murderer who was absolutely sure with the passage of time, that they had gotten away with his or her terrible act and telling him or her, ‘You are under arrest for the murder of …,’” Bryant says. “It is priceless!”
Bryant calls his own father, Chief L. G. Buddy Bryant, his favorite law enforcement professional, citing happy memories of being “raised on the seat of a patrol car.”
He says his dad was a mixture of Andy Griffith, Chief Gillespie, Will Rogers, and Sherlock Holmes, with a touch of Mother Teresa.
“He was a man of the people. Kind, compassionate, caring, knowledgeable, and when needed could be hard as a rock,” Bryant says. “He was a philosopher, the best investigator I’ve ever known, and above all a peace officer.”
Bring your friends to this special event. Bryant will be interviewed by renowned cold case CSI investigator Sheryl McCollum, who also led the previous Crime & Wine events. Admission is $45 ($40 each for two or more), with tables of six available for $200.
Following the presentation, Bryant will be signing books. Visit Georgia Writers Museum online at georgiawritersmuseum.org for tickets and to pre-order a copy of Bryant’s most recent book, The Cold Case Murder of Fred Wilkerson.