Insets, left to right: Brandon Dale Frick (Ware County Jail) and Buffy and Jacob Cothern (WTLV). Background: The area in Florida where Frick allegedly killed Jacob Cothern (WTLV).
A 29-year-old man in Georgia is accused of gunning down his longtime friend in front of his wife after the couple was giving him a ride and he touched the wife inappropriately, causing her to pull over and confront him.
Brandon Dale Frick is currently facing one count each of malice murder, unauthorized discharge of a firearm, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in the death of 35-year-old Jacob Garrett Cothern, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Waycross Police Department, officers responded at approximately 8:22 p.m. on March 13 to a reported shooting near the intersection of Snelson Street and Old Brunel Street. When officers arrived, they located Cothern suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said that while responding to the area, officers encountered Frick a short distance away. He was armed and "attempting to flee" when officers took him into custody without incident. Frick was transported to the Ware County Jail, where he was booked on a charge of murder.
Cothern's wife, Buffy Cothern, told Jacksonville, Florida-based NBC affiliate WTLV she was sitting in the driver's seat when the shooting happened and has now come forward to describe the final moments of her husband's life.
She said the couple had been giving Frick — whom her husband considered a childhood friend — a ride on the night of the shooting. During the drive, she alleged Frick touched her arm inappropriately, prompting her to pull over near Snelson Street, just outside a church.
According to Buffy, her husband told Frick to get out of the vehicle and refused to take him home after what she described as disrespect toward her.
What happened next, she recounted in detail:
"Brandon pulled a gun, shot Jacob one time, and when I see my husband . . . he fell to the ground, and Brandon is telling him, 'Get up and take me home.' Jacob's holding a hand up: 'No, Brandon, please stop. We don't have to do it like this.' When he realized that Jacob couldn't get up…he shot him again, and casually puts the gun back and just takes off walking. Like no remorse whatsoever."
Buffy Cothern described her husband as funny, outgoing, and "very loud," someone who had worked hard to turn his life around. The couple married in 2024 and bonded over their shared commitment to recovery from addiction, she said.
According to Buffy Cothern, her husband had been out of incarceration for nearly two years — longer than he had been in some time — and was making significant strides, including securing a job with Waycross Public Works, earning multiple promotions, and planning to enroll in college while pursuing a commercial driver's license.
"He provided me the love and consistency that I've never had before," she said.
Frick is being held without bond as the investigation continues. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court.
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