S.C., Ga. men shared heart, wife, manner of death

grannyofsix (anonymous) says...

Georgia Bureau of Investigation is checking in on this ?

April 7, 2008 at 6:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

coachken (anonymous) says...

Granny,

Where did it say the GBI was investigating? The way I read it is that the "Island Packet" called the GBI and a spoksman made a statement.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent Greg Harvey told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet that Graham was found Tuesday in a utility building in his backyard with a single gunshot wound to the throat. No foul play was suspected in the former golf tournament director's death, Harvey said.

April 7, 2008 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

grannyofsix (anonymous) says...

that is why I have a ? (question mark) I just wanted to KNOW
My goodness now i feel like a crimminal for asking

April 7, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

RTC (anonymous) says...

This is a creepy story.
It's hard to believe that a person who was given a second chance at life would later decide to end that life by their own hand.

April 7, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

onawhim (anonymous) says...

There should be an investigation and it should be focused on the wife.

April 7, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

512c (anonymous) says...

This is the strangest thing I have ever heard.... But it makes sense if Organ memory exist. It also makes sense that the heart would effect this extreme emotion. Epi-genetics?

April 7, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

scgreetins (anonymous) says...

There is more to the story than the general public is being told. There were strained relationships between Sonny and his children from his previous marriage and he was devastated over it. A letter from his daughter was found with him that stated to her he was already dead. Cheryl's first husband was a drug addict and took his own life in a drug induced stupor. The only thing she's guilty of, is falling in love with a drug addict at an early age (who of us hasn't been young and stupid at one time or another?) and then loving the man that carried the same heart.

April 7, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

greener1 (anonymous) says...

so they let people get drug addicts organs, wow what's next liver's from alcoholics? weird nonetheless.

April 7, 2008 at 9:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

downtownsurvivor (anonymous) says...

I understand that scgreetins, but why would Mr. Graham kill his self? This is a tragic situation but Mrs. Graham needs to be investigated!

April 7, 2008 at 9:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

RTC (anonymous) says...

greener, that was my reaction also. Just how healthy would an organ from a drug addict be?
This whole deal sounds off the wall.

April 7, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

RTC (anonymous) says...

I wonder if you are eligible for a life insurance policy if you have received a transplant?

April 7, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

SomeTruthPlease (anonymous) says...

"In 2001, Graham bought a home for Cottle and her four children in Vidalia."

I think this pretty much sums up Ms. Cottle-Graham. Yes, it's a sad story, but strange, nonetheless. I wonder what the scenario would have been if Mr. Cottle's heart-recipient was a woman? We wouldn't be reading the horrifying details of Mr. Graham's death in the P and C...At least Ms. Cottle has "moved on up". Got a feeling she'll be taken care of for a long, long time.

April 7, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Maximus123 (anonymous) says...

"oooh she a gold digger..."

ok, the story is sad but after reading this...it made me think. Sorry for the humor on a sad story. It just seems odd though. My question is, did he shoot himself, or was he cleaning his gun or something in the shed? Thats my question. What is it believed...suicide, or accidental? Of course I'm assuming the other as well (Mrs. Graham did it in the shed, with the revolver). Then...I'd be CLUE champion

April 7, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

scgreetins (anonymous) says...

It is strange indeed and there are many questions. I just hope we get them all answered...regardless of the outcome. And it is sad, extremely sad.

April 7, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

grannyofsix (anonymous) says...

Wonder how his daughter is feeling if what I just read is true about her letter to her dad? (JUST a QUESTION) This can be so heart breaking to all family members.

April 7, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

grannyofsix (anonymous) says...

My sister in law is married to a man 35 yrs older then her he is not rich except in life and love and is survining on Social security she works at a dept store she didnt have any young children had her own home she fell in love with him and he with her. you never know what is in a persons heary till you walk in thier shoes

April 7, 2008 at 11:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Commonman (anonymous) says...

Well said, grannyofsix. In some cases, better an old man's sweetheart than a young man's slave.

April 7, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

SomeTruthPlease (anonymous) says...

I'd love to walk in her shoes...all the way to my own condo on Hilton Head.

April 7, 2008 at 12:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Corder2007 (anonymous) says...

this story makes one think.......gold digger or survivalist? widowed at 28, 4 children????? but to have 2 husbands kill themselves, no way! GBI step up to the plate!!!

April 7, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dreamer (anonymous) says...

Y'know, body-language says a lot. And watching her on the news clip I saw and in the photo above, Ms. Graham appeared to love her husband. See the way her arm is interlinked around his, even just for a moment of silence? It's a sign of support and love. Maybe she didn't love him in a "husband/wife" relationship, maybe more of an endearing, "fatherly" relationship...either way, I believe she loved him and cared for him.
There are a lot of reasons and stories behind suicides and most of the time, a lot of questions that may never be answered...but even though it's questionable circumstances (because it's not what we're used to)...that doesn't mean it's foul or murder.

April 7, 2008 at 1:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

palmettotree (anonymous) says...

Posted by RTC (anonymous) on April 7, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This is a creepy story.
It's hard to believe that a person who was given a second chance at life would later decide to end that life by their own hand.

It is known that when you get a donated organ that you may pick up the tendencies of the donor. I believe that is what happened here.

April 7, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

meow (anonymous) says...

I think you pick up the tendencies from the wife, not the heart he received.

April 7, 2008 at 2:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

squeak (anonymous) says...

This story is so sad.
And it's sad that we live in a world where the authenticity of their relationship has to be called into question. I mean, just because a woman is married to an older man (as I am. . .by 25 years), why does she get labeled a gold digger? What's more, how does that translate into murderous gold-digger?

I understand that in a world of CSI, Forensic Files and Cold Case television shows, we're all looking around the corner for the next sinister criminal. However, sometimes, a sad incident is simply that - nothing more, nothing less. In the last two years, two people I know passed away at their own hand. I don't want to believe they killed themselves, but they did. There was no vast conspiracy. . .no slighted spouses. I think we should refrain from speculation and *certainly* from judgment based on what little information this article conveys.

April 7, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

one6thfish (anonymous) says...

Was it the woman, or the heart?

April 7, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ccottle (anonymous) says...

I have to comment, first off I am not Cheryl (Carter, Cottle,Watkins, Johnson) Graham, I am Terry's sister in law, and yes there were two Cheryl Cottle's in the same family. At the end of 1994 and early 1995 Cheryl and Terry were separated. Terry returned home to his hostile home. Tragically in 1995 Terry shot himself in the head in the early morning hours at home, he was sustained on life support until the pressure in is brain got to the point that the family had to take him off. He was left on for 1 more day as to be able to donate his usable organs. Cheryl had to be convinced into doing this as she at first did not want any donations to be done. Sonny Graham got Terry's heart in the same hospital that he had passed. As per the donor association requests 1 year had past before any contact could be made between either families. Sonny and Cheryl met and continued to see each other. I in fact have met Mr Graham myself. Sonny gave Cheryl away at here wedding to her third husband, which they in turn had one child. Sonny was still married through all of this, but when I met him in 2000 he and Cheryl were already having an affair. At some point Sonny and his first wife divorced leaving home and his two adult children. Cheryl divorced her third husband and married once again to Johnson, how she divorced also. Sometime later she and Sonny finally married and you now have the stories of her falling in love with the man who had Terry's heart. I can only say I for one am glad that Cheryl no longer has any way to break Terry's heart again.
Yes the families are angry, Knowing Cheryl we don't believe she loved Sonny for himself nor the heart he now carried as she would like us to believe. So loves what can be given to her.
As for Terry being a drug addict, it simply isn't so. Terry loved his family. He had two girls from his first marriage and even though he could not afford to he legally adopted Cheryl's two from her first marriage. Though I see in the obit. none of the children go by the last name of Cottle. Chris and Tim were adopted by Terry, Jessica was Terry's child but she know goes by Watkins and the boys by Carter. If she loved Terry as she claims why not have the children go by their legal names. It seems to me she just doesn't want anything to do with the Cottle last name unless it can sell stories, as in the one in Dec. 2006. I for one want her to stop using the Cottle name as it gets very confusing for me. Come on Cheryl you married two other times after Terry and before Sonny use on of those names for a change.

April 7, 2008 at 4:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

512c (anonymous) says...

Just goes to show... Sometimes you should just let a thing die.....

April 7, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

whopper23 (anonymous) says...

This could only happen in South Carolina. I'm sure the australians in the news are from SC too, but won't admit it.

April 7, 2008 at 6:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

moonpie (anonymous) says...

ccottle, dang it lady you messed me all up! Only in SC could this happen, Well maybe Alabama, LA, MS too? Amazing story and a better explanation CC.

April 7, 2008 at 9:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ccottle (anonymous) says...

As posted by scgreetins

"There is more to the story than the general public is being told. There were strained relationships between Sonny and his children from his previous marriage and he was devastated over it."

Who wouldn't be when you are married for 30 plus years you expect to stay together forever. This family stayed behind Sonny through this heart illness, surgery, recovery, and even through this interest in meeting the donors widow. You are right to say that there is more to the story than the general public is being told. But you do not have the right to slander the name of a dead man. Terry's shooting happened in the early morning hours, before school, how can you say that he took his life in a "drug induced stupor." Where you there? You do seem to think you know the facts behind the death, than you would also know that Cheryl wanted it ruled an accident instead of suicide. (For life insurance purposes) Incidentally I have heard she mentioned that Sonny's had to be an accident also.(Slipped over clothes while cleaning a gun. Maybe again for insurance purposes. Its just my own opinion though).

"There were strained relationships between Sonny and his children from his previous marriage and he was devastated over it"
Sonny had a long time to work things out with his children, the affair was going on from the later half of the 90's. If he was so devastated over it to take his own life; why do it now so many years later. If you know the story that the general public doesn't than you know this to be true. I have no idea why or if Sonny shot himself. What I do know is that two men are dead from gunshot wounds to the head and married to Cheryl at the same time. If no foul play is seen, than maybe it is living with her that brings them to shoot themselves. I do believe that Sonny having Terry's heart had nothing to do with him loving Cheryl, medically it just wouldn't work that way, and at the time of Terry's death Cheryl was not in love with Terry. This sad story makes for good reading in the papers and better headlines, Terry's heart was not the reason these two were together.It's just how they met.
All and all I believe that donating organs are a great thing to do. Terry's kidney's, liver and skin were given to other people. A lot of good has come out of our loss, Sonny would contest to that. He lived 13 years.(March 1995) with the donated heart, and to my knowledge he lived a good life with it. It is sad to see this to have ended this way. I'm sorry for our families to have this resurface. It brings our loss fresh again.

April 7, 2008 at 9:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

auger (anonymous) says...

Wasn't this a Twilight Zone plot line about 30 years ago?

April 8, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ccottle (anonymous) says...

Don't know about twight zone plot but I have thought about starting a new soap opera. Should be good for at least a few years running

April 8, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Girleygirl (anonymous) says...

I should have read this story last....This story got my head messed up and I feel like contacting Lifetime to tell them to contact ccottle. This is crazy!!

April 8, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ccottle (anonymous) says...

Girleygirl I know what you mean. Can you imagine having this true story (and it is true)being told years to come by all of our children and grandchildren. I just hope that for all the children involved that it doesn't mess up their lives to badly. There is so much more to this story, we as a family have had to live with.

April 8, 2008 at 1:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

squeak (anonymous) says...

Holy crap! I can't read this anymore! It's so sordid! How do we even know that ccottle is telling the truth? I'm not saying that you aren't. . .I'm just saying that for all I know, you could be a 15 year old boy sitting at a computer in the Phillipines.

Seriously, though. . .all joking aside. . .this really is a horrible story.

And yes, it sticks in my craw a little. . .you know, with the age difference thing. I mean ColdBeer was totally right - that if one adds up all of the ingredients of this story, one could easily assume that this is a shady deal.

I think I just get sensitive to the May/December issue. ColdBeer -- I know there aren't many 70 year old ladies you're looking at smooching, but aren't there any. . ohh. . say twenty-somethings you'd like to go out with (given that you were a free man and all)??? In any case, I would sure as hell hope that if something happened to my darling spouse, no one would accuse me of having married him for anything other than love and his enormous

heart!

Oh! P.S.: "I understand your point, but if we waited for the P&C to print a "complete" article that included all of the information and facts that an article should have, we'd never get to comment on anything." True. True. So very true!!!

April 8, 2008 at 3:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

squeak (anonymous) says...

P.S.
Ccottle - sorry. . .quick note. I really came across as insensitive in my last post. I apologize. I didn't mean to make light of your tragedy. I was making a horrible joke about the authenticity of *anyone's* postings on the Internet. Not an appropriate place for that. So sorry!!!

April 8, 2008 at 3:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ccottle (anonymous) says...

I assure you I am not a 15 year old boy sitting at a computer in the Philippines. This story is true and I have news paper articles from March of 1995. To prove I am telling the truth, no one but family members would keep these articles, but than again I suppose you wouldn't have to believe this either. I live in Illinois and am married to Terry's brother for the last 30 years

April 8, 2008 at 4:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

scgreetins (anonymous) says...

ccottle: I have reason to believe that I may need to speak with you or at least email you. My child is involved with the Cottle-Graham family and I would like the opportunity to speak with you if I may. I have my own concerns for my child. Is there anyway we can get in touch with each other without posting our email addresses or phone numbers on here for all to see?

April 9, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

comptons214 (anonymous) says...

I am Terry Cottle's step sister and I would like to say that the accusations of Terry being a drug addict are untrue. Terry was a good person who would help anybody in need. The only thing he did wrong in this is to get mixed up with Cheryl in the first place. She was (and probably still is) a conniving, money hungry woman who was only concerned with her own interests and no one else's.
Let's all not forget, it wasn't Cheryl who wanted to donate his organs but Terry's father who wanted the organs donated. Terry's father always blamed Cheryl for Terry's death, up to the day he died. She may not have pulled the trigger, according to his father, but she certainly pushed him to it.

April 14, 2008 at 8:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )