Mystery: 3 family members die in one day in Jackson County, Ala.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

photo Sheriff Chuck Phillips

In an Alabama town with about 800 people, three members of the same family died within 24 hours of each other.

First there was 54-year-old Ricky Nelson Moody. Jackson County Coroner John David Jordan said Ricky's family found him mysteriously dead inside a Woodville home on Nov. 9.

Then there was Ricky's mother, 78-year-old Georgia Ann Moody. When officers responded to a call about Ricky, they found Georgia having problems. The coroner said Georgia seemed confused.

"We thought she was just in shock over the death of her son," Sheriff Chuck Phillips said.

Eventually, officers began to worry that Georgia had taken too much medicine. Paramedics responded to the house and drove Georgia to Highland Medical Center.

But on the way, Jordan said, Georgia suffered cardiac arrest. Doctors pronounced her dead at the hospital.

Then, hours later on Nov. 10, a family member found one more relative dead: 58-year-old Jerry Lynn Moody, son of Georgia, brother of Ricky.

The cause of death for all three Moodys is still a mystery. Jordan is waiting for an autopsy report from the Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville, Ala. The final report won't be ready for about six months, he said.

The coroner said 82-year-old Ernest Moody Jr. -- husband of Georgia, father of Jerry and Ricky -- was home at the time of their deaths.

Phillips said investigators do not have any reason to believe someone killed the Moodys.

"As far as suspecting it," he said, "there's nothing obvious."