Centerville man sentenced for fatal 2024 gas station shooting

CENTERVILLE — A man pled guilty to a murder charge and was sentenced after a shooting in 2024, the Houston County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Dru Eggebrecht, 39, of Centerville, was sentenced to life in prison on April 30 in Houston County Superior Court.

The shooting took place on Oct. 9, 2024 at the Marathon gas station on Wilson Drive. Centerville Police Department responded to the scene early that morning and found Amy Avritt shot multiple times and laying in the parking lot. Eggebrecht approached officers during life saving measures and admitted to shooting her. 

He was taken into custody and the murder weapon was found nearby. Avritt died at the scene.

GBI discovered Avritt and Eggebrecht were in an on-and-off relationship and shared a son. Eggebrecht told law enforcement he was staying with Avritt to care for their child during fall break. 

The morning of the shooting, Avritt and Eggebrecht went to the gas station. While parked, he demanded to see her phone and she told him he would have to kill her for it.

As she tried to leave the car, he shot her once. As she stumbled away, he got out and shot her five more times, then took her phone.

Eggebrecht claimed he was using methamphetamine and believed her phone was being hacked. He told witnesses and law enforcement what he did was wrong.

Eggebrecht initially claimed insanity based on past mental illness, but withdrew the defense before trial was set to begin on May 11.

The DA’s office was prepared to argue that Eggebrecht knew right from wrong at the time and any delusions were the result of intoxication, not warranting deadly force. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, with the help of Centerville Police Department.

Chief Judge Katherine Lumsden sentenced Eggebrecht. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane.

Duane and District Attorney Eric Edwards provided comments:

Duane said, “This case is a tragedy on multiple levels. First, yet again, we are dealing with another domestic violence homicide and a young lady and mother lost her life. Second, in cases like this it’s always the children who get punished the most. Another young child has to grow up knowing his father killed his mother. I pray for the child and that one day he can find peace with this.”

Edwards said, “This case is a heartbreaking example of how domestic violence can escalate to the most extreme and irreversible outcome. A mother lost her life in a public place, and a child will grow up without either parent because of the defendant’s actions. That is the lasting reality of what occurred here. The defendant’s decision to withdraw his insanity defense and plead guilty spares the victim’s family from reliving these events at trial, but it does not lessen the gravity of what was done. The facts of this case demonstrate a deliberate and sustained use of deadly force that cannot be excused.

“I am grateful for the work of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Centerville Police Department, and the prosecution of this case by Senior Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane. The life sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of this crime and our commitment to holding those who commit acts of domestic violence resulting in death fully accountable.”