Mann

According to an affidavit used to obtain a search warrant for a computer, former Tiftonite Dr. Charles Mann III was lured to the home of Glenn Vincent Riggs II, 22, who is accused of killing him, for a sexual encounter.

Mann was found dead in a creek on the south side of Augusta Nov. 23 after being reported missing a couple of days earlier. He had volunteered at a hospital-sponsored health fair he helped organize in Williston, S.C.

His cause of death was found to be be strangulation and blunt force trauma, according to a Richmond County Coroner’s report.

Mann’s death was quickly linked to Riggs, who investigators say posted a notice Nov. 21 on a website, to which Mann responded. 

The affidavit states that Riggs had given Mann his telephone number and address after the two exchanged sexually-oriented messaged. Riggs told investigators he had planned to rob Mann.

According to the affidavit, when investigators began to inspect Mann’s 20006 Honda Accord, which had been found in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Old Louisville Road in Augusta, they found blood inside and outside of the vehicle. They also found a piece of paper that bore Riggs’ information. Riggs was interviewed shortly after, but denied having seen the doctor.

Riggs later posted a message on a Facebook page of a friend which read, “I killed a man…the law is on to me…” the affidavit stated.

He also reportedly told his grandmother that she should not return to the Dublin Drive residence they shared on Nov. 23 because his friend who was visiting had a seizure, and had been taken to the hospital. Riggs told her he was working to clean up the blood left behind after the seizure.

Mann, 60, was a resident of Kathleen, and worked at the Southern Palmetto Hospital in Barnwell, S.C., a little more than an hour away from Augusta. He had been employed at the hospital as a general surgeon since March. He had previously worked as a surgeon in Tifton, and was remembered fondly by many local residents, who called him a “kind and gentle man,” and “a great doctor and a great man.”

Mann and his wife, Becky, hosted local residents at their home on North College Avenue each year during the holidays, until the crowds became too large. That idea blossomed into what is now Tifton’s Hometown Holidays, an annual event for the entire community. 

Riggs is being held in the Richmond County Jail on murder and robbery charges. There are also several outstanding warrants on misdemeanor charges for Riggs.

To contact editor Angye Morrison, call 382-4321.