Man who stood in path of train is linked to body found at hotel, Georgia police say

A man killed by an oncoming train and a body found the same day in a Georgia hotel room are linked in a murder investigation, according to police.

One is the victim and the other is the suspected killer, the Gainesville Police Department said in an Aug. 28 news release.

Investigators have not revealed how the two men crossed paths at a hotel on Aug. 17.

The body of 60-year-old Wade Hitcher of California was found during a welfare check at the Haven Inn & Suites, officials said.

His death was seen as suspicious and an autopsy confirmed he died of “blunt force trauma,” officials said.

“During the course of the investigation, police identified Keith Bryant, 39, of Gainesville as the perpetrator,” police said.

“Subsequently, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office was working the death investigation of Bryant. Bryant was struck and killed by a train on the same date that police found Hitcher deceased. It appears that Bryant killed Hitcher then later deliberately walked into the path of the train.”

Details of a motive in the killing have not been released.

Gainesville, the county seat of Hall County, is about a 55-mile drive northeast from Atlanta.