Two men from Georgia have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of a homeless man, whose body was discovered tied and weighted at the bottom of a lake, according to recent announcements from law enforcement. The victim, 29-year-old John Andrew Mamph, was living in a makeshift camp in St. Mary’s, a small town near the Florida border, when he was assaulted in July 2023.
The attack took place in a secluded area known to locals as “Gilligan’s Island.” Authorities in Georgia believe that a group of three to four individuals participated in the assault. Following the attack, the assailants transported Mamph to a nearby boat ramp, where they put him in a boat and took him out on the lake. While Mamph was still bound, the attackers weighed him down with multiple weights and dumped him into the lake to drown, according to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney.
Earlier this month, Frank Kennedy, 56, and Anthony Mistretta, 29, were found guilty by a jury for their involvement in Mamph’s murder. Each defendant was convicted of one count of malice murder, felony murder, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and battery. Kennedy was also found guilty of aggravated assault. The two were sentenced immediately after their convictions.
The day after the murder, a local resident discovered Mamph’s body while jet-skiing with his family. The individual noticed Mamph’s submerged body in the clear water, returned to shore, and promptly called 911. Mamph’s body was found tied to a cinder block, near an aluminum roof flashing and a black bag filled with rocks, according to a police report.
The man who discovered the body told police that he could “smell death” as he approached the victim. That same night, a task force of local, county, and state law enforcement made their first arrests based on eyewitness accounts of the gruesome crime. In total, five individuals were charged in connection with the murder.
Before Kennedy and Mistretta’s trial, all other defendants pleaded guilty. Debra Leane Dougherty, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of felony murder and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Bernice Rose McGuire, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and is awaiting sentencing. Megan Leigh Robison, 34, who initially lied to law enforcement about her knowledge of the murder, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement and was sentenced to five years of probation.