Episode 468: The Daniel’s Family Murders

On December 4, 1997, four members of the Daniels family were brutally shot and killed inside their home in the tiny town of Santa Claus, Georgia. The killer was Jerry Scott Heidler, then a 20-year-old man who had previously been acquainted with the Daniels family because they once fostered his sister. Heidler has remained on death row in Georgia since his conviction, and his appeals have been consistently denied.

Sources for this episode:

https://www.oxygen.com/homicide-for-the-holidays/crime-news/santa-claus-georgia-jerry-scott-heidler-murders-daniels

https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/files/202013752.pdf

https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-survivor-amber-daniels-now/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/12/05/foster-parents-two-children-killed-in-georgia/5e385c80-3968-4dae-ae02-efb3272e03eb/

https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/06/us/family-shot-to-death-at-home-in-georgia.html

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-holiday-horror/136991743/