Murder Trial Set to Start in Franklin Co.

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

Jury selection is set to begin today in the murder trial of a Canon man, accused in the death of his mother last summer.

40-year old John Robert Dye of Canon is charged with felony murder, felony aggravated assault and felony animal cruelty.

Authorities say on the morning of Thursday, August 27, 2015, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to a home on Grady School Road just outside of Lavonia to do a welfare check after 61-year old Cynthia R. McCullough failed to show up for work at TI Automotive.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Jimmy LeCroy said at the time, when deputies arrived, they initially found Dye unconscious in a hallway of the home from what investigators believe were self-inflicted injuries.

After a further search of the home, the deputies found the body of Dye’s mother concealed in a bedroom.

Investigators believe deputies had walked in on a botched murder-suicide.

Dye had also allegedly killed his mother’s dog and was also charged with animal cruelty.

At the time of McCullough’s murder, Dye had reportedly been living with his mother for about seven months, but there had been no prior domestic incidents on record with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, according to LeCroy.

Dye was air-lifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

Once released he was arrested, and after an extradition hearing in Greenville, taken to the Franklin County Detention Center where he has been held without bond.