George Zinkhan

George Martin Zinkhan III was an American academic and poet. Zinkhan was a professor of marketing at the University of Georgia from 1994 until April 26, 2009. He was named as the prime suspect in a triple homicide before authorities announced on May 9, 2009, that they had found and identified Zinkhan's body.

Career In 1974, Zinkhan received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Swarthmore College. He earned a Master's in Business Administration with high distinction from the University of Michigan in 1979 and his doctorate in business administration, also from the University of Michigan, in 1981. According to a university spokesman, he had an impeccable track record as a teacher and was a respected professor on campus.

Awards Zinkhan received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Research in 2004 which was presented by the American Academy of Advertising.

Publications Zinkhan published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as numerous chapters in edited books. He was the editor of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science from 2003 to 2006, and of the Journal of Advertising from 1991 to 1995, as well as the book review editor of the Journal of Marketing from 1991 to 1995. Zinkhan's poems—many of which the American Marketing Association published on its website—cover topics ranging from university politics

Personal life Zinkhan had two children, a son and a daughter, with his wife, attorney Marie Bruce. Zinkhan also had three children from a previous marriage. The family lived in the town of Bogart, which is adjacent to Athens. Zinkhan owned a second home in Amsterdam, where he was a marketing professor at the Vrije Universiteit. Police said Zinkhan and his wife, Marie Bruce, were having “marital difficulties,” that Tom Tanner appeared to be his “specific target” in the shootings, and that Ben Teague was “at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Tanner was shot first, police said. On the same day, "Zinkhan was charged with three counts of murder and a state arrest warrant was issued in Clarke County, Georgia. A federal arrest warrant was issued on April 26, 2009, after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution." Cadaver dogs located Zinkhan's body on May 9, 2009, approximately one mile from the Jeep. Investigators said that Zinkhan used a shovel to dig a grave in the woods behind Cleveland Road Elementary, lay down in it, took an old wooden pallet he had covered with dirt and debris and pulled it over top of the hole. He then fired a single shot from a .38-caliber handgun into his head.