REBECCA - The Turner County tax assessor, his wife and pregnant daughter had been shot to death before their house burned down, authorities said Monday. <br>
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Tommy Joe Wideman, 51, Deborah Wheeler Wideman, 48, and Melissa Wideman, 20, were found after a motorist spotted the fire east of Rebecca at 3 a.m. Friday. <br>
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``They died from gunshot wounds,'' Coroner Edgar Perry said. <br>
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Funeral services for the Widemans were held Monday. <br>
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The deaths shocked citizens of the rural county, halfway between Macon and Valdosta along Interstate 75. <br>
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``It has blown everybody's minds here,'' Turner County Sheriff Randy Kendrick said. <br>
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County offices in Ashburn and some local businesses closed their doors Friday at noon and did not reopen until 2 p.m. Monday. Black bows were placed on doors. <br>
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Kendrick confirmed that the Widemans died before the fire began. Arson investigators continued combing through the ashes on Monday, but officials would not say whether the fire was intentional. <br>
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``It is still under investigation and we are not ready to release that information,'' state Insurance Commission spokeswoman Gina Gassert said. <br>
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County Tax Commissioner Charles F. Evans said he had worked closely with Wideman for 10 years. <br>
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``They were fine people,'' Evans said. ``It was about the biggest funeral I have ever attended. You might say four bodies were buried today. I have never witnessed anything like that before.'' <br>
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The Oaktree Florist and Gift Shop, owned and operated by Deborah Wheeler Wideman, remained closed until further notice. The shop, the assessors office and the church where the funeral was held are located within on a single downtown Ashburn block
