A Dawson County grand jury has indicted two Dawson County men accused of killing an Effingham County couple just before Christmas 2009.
Jesse James Kilgore faces 10 counts in connection with the Dec. 19, 2009, deaths of Jennifer Nicole Budrawich and Paul Joseph Budrawich. The Budrawiches had gone to north Georgia to visit their children. It was to be their last visit before being granted custody.
The Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office alleges that Kilgore shot Jennifer Budrawich and Paul Budrawich with a .380 pistol on Dec. 19. He is being charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felony murder, tampering with evidence, false statement to law enforcement, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of concealing the death of another.
Authorities conducted a search for the Budrawiches after they were reported missing. Jennifer Budrawich’s body was found Dec. 20 in the Amicalola River, and Paul Budrawich’s body was found a day later.
The Budrawiches left their home on McCall Road in Effingham County around 5 a.m. on Dec. 18. They were scheduled to visit their children in Jasper the next day at 11 a.m. But they never showed up, prompting the search.
Kilgore is the father of one of Jennifer Budrawich’s three children and is married to her mother.
Mullinax, Kilgore’s nephew, was indicted for two counts of murder, two counts of felony murder, tampering with evidence, making a false statement to law enforcement and two counts of concealing the death of another.
In their interviews with investigators, Kilgore and Mullinax said they had not seen the Budrawiches on Dec. 19, and Mullinax also said he did not know what vehicle they were driving, according to the indictment.
Authorities also allege that they dumped the Budrawiches’ bodies in the Amicalola River to conceal the crime and also drove the Budrawiches’ car to Pickens County to hide it.
Kilgore and Mullinax were arrested Dec. 20 and have been in jail without bond since.
Kilgore, who has a previous felony theft conviction, was arrested last June in connection with a string of thefts in Dawson County.
