WOODBINE, Ga. — In a case that rattled a quiet Georgia town, two men have been sentenced to life in prison after a jury found them guilty of the gruesome 2023 murder of John “Scooter” Mamph — a 29-year-old whose final hours were marked by torture and unimaginable cruelty in a remote area known locally as Gilligan Island.
According to the Brunswick District Attorney’s Office, Frank Patrick Kennedy, 56, and Anthony Scott Mistretta, 29, were convicted on April 2 by a Camden County jury. The charges included felony murder and kidnapping tied to the brutal death of Mamph, who was targeted near his homeless encampment in St. Marys, Georgia.
Investigators revealed that on July 5, 2023, Kennedy and Mistretta ambushed Mamph, beating and hogtying him before transporting him by boat to a nearby lake. With his body bound and helpless, they added weights to ensure he wouldn’t surface, then dumped him into the water while he was still alive. His body was discovered the next day by a local family out jet-skiing.
Authorities say swift action by law enforcement led to multiple arrests that same night, based on eyewitness accounts. Kennedy and Mistretta were among five people eventually charged in connection with Mamph’s death.
After their conviction, both men received life sentences without the possibility of parole. The three others involved accepted plea deals ahead of trial. Debra Leane Doughtery, 38, also received life without parole after pleading guilty to felony murder. Bernice Rose McGuire, 27, admitted to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and is awaiting sentencing. Megan Leigh Robison, 34, who police said misled investigators, was sentenced to five years’ probation for making a false statement.
John Mamph, remembered by those who knew him as a kind and quiet soul, had lost his mother — his closest companion — not long before his death. Tikeisha Parrish, a family friend, described him as “a young man trying to find his way” after that devastating loss.
The murder sent shockwaves through the local community and underscored the hidden dangers that can exist even in remote, seemingly peaceful places like Gilligan’s Island.
