Eric Whitehead was a fourteen year old living in Georgia when he would murder his sister
According to court documents Eric Whitehead would grab a rifle and shoot 22-year-old Trish Troglen multiple times while the young woman was sleeping on a couch
His defense team would try to put forth a theory that Eric Whitehead, who had a history of psychiatric problems, was sleeping and had a bad dream when he suddenly awoke he thought he was still sleeping when he would murder Trish Troglen
Eric Whitehead would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison
In 2024 following an altercation with another inmate Eric Whitehead was killed
Eric Whitehead Death
A Telfair State Prison inmate has died following an altercation with another inmate.
Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Director of Communications Joan Heath says Eric Whitehead, who was serving life with parole for murder out of Richmond County, died on Wednesday.
According to Heath, his body will be turned over to the county coroner and will be taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Crime Lab to determine the official cause of death. The death is being investigated by the GDC’s Office of Professional Standards.
No additional details are available.
GDC: Telfair State Prison inmate dies after altercation – 41NBC News | WMGT-DT
Eric Whitehead Case
A 15-year-old Georgia boy was sentenced to life in prison Friday after pleading guilty to murder after shooting his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was asleep on the couch.
Eric Whitehead, then 14, told investigators he had a dream Aug. 7, 2009 that he and his 22-year-old sister, Trish Troglen, were arguing, reports CBS affiliate WRDW. Whitehead reportedly woke up enraged, took a rifle from his stepfather’s room, and shot his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was napping on the sofa.
Judge Sheryl Jolly sentenced Whitehead to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to The Augusta Chronicle. He was charged as an adult and may be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Whitehead, who had a tendency to run away and get into trouble, was temporarily staying with his stepfather at the time of the shooting, reports the Chronicle.
Shortly after the shooting, investigators said Whitehead told them he considered Troglen to be his best friend.
Investigators say Whitehead had a history of psychiatric problems. Following the fatal incident he underwent two mental examinations – both found him competent to stand trial, Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms told the Chronicle.
Whitehead’s biological father told WRDW that he believed “teenage hormones and peer pressures led to all that went wrong.”
Eric Whitehead, Ga. Teen, Gets Life in Prison for Deadly Shooting of Sleeping Stepsister – CBS News
Eric Whitehead News
A teenager has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his stepsister 10 times in the head after awaking from a dream in which they were arguing.
Eric Leigh Whitehead, now 15, was sentenced Friday by Judge Sheryl Jolly to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to Richmond County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Kelly, who was the lead investigator on the case.
“He’ll have to serve at least 30 (years) before he comes up for a parole hearing,” Kelly said.
Whitehead was 14 at the time of the shooting, which occurred Aug. 7, 2009, at the victim’s home in the 5000 block of Neely Road in Hephzibah.
Patricia Troglen, 22, was asleep on the couch when Whitehead shot her repeatedly in the head with his stepfather’s .22-caliber rifle.
Whitehead was charged as an adult in the case, which, if he had not pleaded guilty, would have gone to trial this week.
At the time of the slaying, Whitehead had been staying temporarily at the home of his stepfather — the victim’s father — because he had been caught trying to run away from his mother’s Martinez home, said Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms, who prosecuted the case.
Whitehead’s stepfather, Charles Troglen, had raised Whitehead from a little boy, but by the time of the shooting he and Whitehead’s mother had split, Syms said.
In interviews with police after the killing, Whitehead said he and his stepsister had an argument over washing dishes. Shortly after, Whitehead had a dream about the argument, became enraged, took the gun from his stepfather’s room and shot Troglen.
“He never did really give a recorded statement that he remembered doing the shooting,” Syms said. “He basically said that he was angry when he woke up and really, when he came to his senses, he had the gun in his hand standing over Patricia Troglen with her blood on him.”
The suspect underwent two mental evaluations — one by doctors at East Central Regional Hospital in Augusta and another by a doctor hired by his attorney — and both found him competent to stand trial, Syms said.
In Georgia, those sentenced to life in prison must serve 30 years before they are eligible for parole.
Whitehead has been incarcerated at a youth detention facility but he will soon be transferred into the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections, where he will be held at the Burress Correctional Training Center in Forsyth, according to District Attorney Ashley Wright.
