Owner of construction site Ahmaud Arbery entered before being killed may not move in 'dream' home over threats
Larry English, the owner of an under-construction home where slain jogger Ahmaud Arbery was spotted on surveillance camera moments before his death, has opened up about his dream of a waterfront home. According to NBC News, the Brunswick, Georgia property has been on English's bucket list for the longest time. He had long dreamed of having easy access to fish and boat as a peaceful distraction from the stress of his heart-related illness. But although his dream home is currently under construction, it is unlikely his family will ever move into the property once it is complete. "Now, it's honestly not safe," English's attorney Elizabeth Graddy told the outlet. "It's supposed to be a place for comfort and peace. And now, it will be forever associated with this tragedy."
The 50-year-old owns the house where Arbery, 25, reportedly entered shortly before he was shot and killed by a father-son duo on February 23. Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault last Thursday, two days after a disturbing video of Arbery's killing became public and prompted nationwide outrage about why it took more than two months for the police to make arrests.
English's attorney revealed in an interview Monday night how he had received death threats since the arrests, adding that both English and his wife were "heartsick" for Arbery's parents. Meanwhile, lawyers representing Arbery's family said in a statement that the security camera showing him entering the under-construction house and leaving shortly after proves he did nothing wrong.
"Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site," they said in a statement. "He did not cause any damage to the property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave but rather left on his own accord to continue his jog. Ahmaud's actions at this empty home under construction were in no way a felony under Georgia law."
That said, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is currently reviewing the video. Graddy also said her client wanted to "correct the mistaken impression" that English had shared the video with the McMichaels before the shooting or at all, saying he had only met the younger McMichael in 2019 when the latter introduced himself. English was working in Douglas, about 90 miles from Brunswick, on February 23 when the tragedy unfolded. He was unaware of what was going on when he got an alert on his phone that a video had been taken by motion-activated cameras at his construction site. "He worked for another 20 minutes and then washed up," Graddy said of her client, who is a beekeeper.
English watched the video in the alert and later learned from a neighbor that Arbery had been killed that day. He immediately turned the video over to Glynn County police after the shooting. Graddy noted that the motion-activated cameras at the property had caught someone inside the construction site a handful of times in the months leading up to the tragedy. English called a non-emergency police number the first time and reported the unauthorized entry, she added. "He never used the word 'burglary,'" Graddy said, explaining that nothing has ever been stolen from the property. "My client did not want people to come on to the property because it's just not safe."
English never shared any of this information with the McMichaels, whom his attorney says he did not even know. "Even if there had been a robbery, however, the English family would not have wanted a vigilante response," Graddy said. "They would have entrusted the matter to law enforcement authorities."