District attorney to address mysterious Thomas Paschal death

ALBANY — The mysterious case of Dr. Thomas Paschal, found dead Feb. 18 in his home from a gunshot wound, will soon be brought to closure, Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards said Friday.

Paschal, once a prominent Albany pediatrician, was discovered by officers with the Albany Police Department shortly after authorities received an anonymous 911 call at 7:25 p.m., asking officials to visit Paschal’s residence at 715 W. Third Ave. Paschal had been physically disabled since the late 1980s, when prosecutors accused his then-wife, Karen Paschal, of introducing a harmful drug into his home intravenous device.

When police reached Paschal’s residence, they found it secure and required assistance from the Albany Fire Department to gain entrance, officials told The Albany Herald.

Once inside the home, Paschal’s body was found with a single gunshot wound inside the mouth.

Paschal’s behavior over the previous years, including apparent drug involvements and associations with known criminals — four of whom were arrested on unrelated robbery charges the day after his body was discovered — prompted officials to consider the possibility of foul play.

Paschal’s body underwent an autopsy at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab. GBI officials have declined to issue an opinion as to whether investigators think the gun wound was self-inflicted or a criminal action, stating only that the manner of Paschal’s death is “undetermined.” Doughery County Coroner Michael Fowler said Friday that undetermined classification may hold indefinitely.

“Unless someone steps forward and confesses to murder, I believe (the GBI) is probably just going to sign off on that,” Fowler said.

Edwards, who has been convalescing from recent surgery, said, however, it was time to press GBI forensics experts for a more definite call on Paschal’s death so that it can be closed out “one way or another.”

“The Paschal case is complicated by the cadre of people who revolved around (Paschal) and by the lifestyle he embraced since his disability,” Edwards said. “But this has lingered on too long. People expect it to be closed and it should be closed.”

According to Edwards, there had been some early suspicion of Tracy Lauren Atwood, Paschal’s “sometimes” girlfriend, based on speculation that another woman was vying for Paschal’s attention. No evidence supporting that has been found, Edwards said.

Atwood’s history with Paschal included at least one violent incident. In late August 2011, Atwood was arrested by Lee County sheriff’s deputies after being accused of firing a .38-caliber pistol at Paschal in her Lee County home. Paschal was arrested on a drug charge.

Atwood, Tracy Jo Walker and Brandon Aman had been on parole but were returned to jail for parole violations associated with an unrelated robbery that occurred at Knights Inn on Schley Avenue the night Paschal’s body was discovered, the district attorney said. Edwards said that David Hodge, who was not under parole restrictions at the time, was accused of taking a wallet and cell phone from an individual at the inn.

Hodge and the others are awaiting trial in that robbery case.