Pinetree Country Club, site of weekend killing, reopens
Jul. 9—KENNESAW — Golfers have returned to the Pinetree Country Club, shuttered for days in the aftermath of Saturday's discovery of three dead men on the course.
Several dozen cars were parked outside the club Thursday afternoon, as a handful of players teed off near the clubhouse. Most declined to be interviewed, but one club member said the course's 10th hole—where the bodies of Henry Valdez, Paul Pierson, and Gene Siller were found Saturday afternoon—remains indefinitely closed.
According to Cobb police, Valdez, of California, and Pierson, of Kansas, were found "with apparent gunshot wounds" in the bed of a pickup truck sitting on the course, which carried Kansas plates and was registered to Pierson. Siller, the club's head of golf, was found nearby with a gunshot wound to the head.
At the 10th hole, which borders the quiet cul-de-sac of Frey Lake Court, a makeshift memorial sat on the green just steps from the crime scene. Flowers, golf towels, crosses, and an American flag adorned the site. Mourners left golf balls inscribed with prayers; "You will be missed," read one.
A GoFundMe organized on behalf of Siller's family had raised nearly $650,000 as of Thursday afternoon. A private service for Siller will be held Monday.
Questions remain about the circumstances under which the three men were killed. Investigators currently suspect Siller was shot because he stumbled on a crime in progress, but Cobb Police have not said whether Valdez and Pierson are believed to have been killed at the scene.
The suspect in the case remains unidentified and at-large, and no motive has yet been suggested by investigators.
The most recent update from the department came Wednesday with the identification of Valdez. As of Thursday afternoon, Sgt. Wayne Delk said Cobb Police had no additional developments to share.
