It was the story of Gene Cooley, a Blairsville man who brought defamation charges against another Blairsville resident who was anonymously posting negative comments about him online.
The firestorm was sparked by the murder of Cooley's finacee, a crime in which he was never a suspect. The woman's ex was arrested and charged in the case.
Despite that fact, the comments on Topix.com became so disgruntling that Cooley had to move to Augusta and hire an attorney.
According to the ABC program, Cooley's Rabun County lawyer discovered the person behind the anonymous postings was another Rabun County resident named Sybil Denise Ballew.
Ballew, who was also featured on Friday night's episode, was ordered to pay over $400,000 in restitution.
Although he hasn't seen a dime of that money, Cooley told ABC's Chris Cuomo that having his name cleared was a victory in itself.
Gene Cooley, of Blairsville, Ga., with his late fiancee, Paulette Harper, and her daughter. In 2008 Harper was murdered by her ex. Harper's family rejected Cooley based on anonymous gossip posted on Blairsville's Topix -- a website for local news an
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