The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office requests anyone with information about David J. Stewart or who might have noticed anything “unusual or noteworthy” in the Double Bridges Road area to contact detective Adam Hunter at 706-743-8101, ext. 1714, or jhunter@oglethorpesheriff.org.
Michael Thomas Dusch
A man was charged Tuesday in the death of David J. Stewart, whose body was found on a property on Double Bridges Road last month, according to the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael Thomas Dusch, 29, of West End, North Carolina, who was in custody on other charges in Denton, Texas, was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, exploitation of the elderly, false imprisonment, concealing the death of another, financial transaction card theft and identity fraud, the Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday.
Dusch could face additional charges, according to the statement.
Stewart, 69, was found behind a home on Double Bridges Road on Feb. 25.
His body was identified by the GBI through medical/dental records and his name was released Monday afternoon, according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office that day.
Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel said Monday that Stewart’s body had been there “a while” and investigators are looking at a two-week window they believe his death occurred.
Dusch was pulled over on a traffic stop in Texas in a stolen vehicle on March 6, according to the Denton Police Department. He also was wanted on 16 felony warrants for sexual exploitation of a minor in North Carolina, the Denton Police Department stated, and was linked to a current investigation in Arkansas.
“We’re waiting to see if (Dusch is) going to fight extradition or not,” Gabriel said Monday.
Oglethorpe County sent two investigators to Denton when it was learned Dusch was a person of interest in Stewart’s death. The GBI also sent investigators to Denton, Gabriel said.
Gabriel said investigators know what brought Dusch to Oglethorpe County, but he declined to say because of the ongoing investigation.
“He was not known to the victim prior to him coming,” Gabriel said.
He said the GBI did an “excellent job” at the crime scene on Double Bridges Road.
“They were out there from Tuesday (Feb. 25) until Saturday (March 1),” Gabriel said. “That’s the longest I’ve ever seen forensics process a scene. They checked everything. So I think there’s going to be a lot of forensic evidence that’s very strong and linked into the scene as well.”
Gabriel said it’s the first murder in Oglethorpe County since Jimmy Anglin’s death in 2017.
Robert David Jordan, Anglin’s cousin, was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and concealment of death on March 30, 2022. Jordan was sentenced to life in prison without parole the following day.
Jordan was arrested on Sept. 16, 2019, following a search of a wooded area behind 4030 Comer Road, his primary residence at the time Anglin went missing.
Anglin’s skull was found 457 yards from Jordan’s residence, but the rest of Anglin’s remains are still missing.