Family Remembers Slain Effingham County Couple

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. -- One local family is spending this Christmas preparing to bury a loved one: an Effingham County man who was murdered along with his wife.

Authorities say Jennifer and Paul Budrawich were shot to death, and their bodies thrown into the Amicalola River in Dawson County.

On Christmas Eve, Debbie Harris sat in her Rincon home and described how tough it's been dealing with the death of her brother Paul. She says they were very close.

"I'm going to miss them a lot. My mom lives with them and she's going to miss them a lot," she said softly.

Harris said her brother was a hard worker, but lonely. "My brother had a troubled life. Like I said, he grew up without a dad, except my uncle. My brother was a loner until he met her," she said.

Paul and Jennifer met while he was doing a job in Dawsonville, Harris said, and Jennifer followed him here.

"My brother had never smiled like that before," Harris said as she looked at a picture from Jennifer and Paul's wedding.

Harris said the couple was devastated when they lost custody of their kids, but she said they worked hard to correct their mistakes and were close to getting the kids back.

"it's just unfortunate that they did lose the children, but it did turn them into a better person. They took parenting classes," said Harris.

Though her sister-in-law had faults, she was always smiling. "She got my brother saying I love you, and that, you know, I've never seen my brother this happy, because my brother never really smiled," said Harris.

Though Jennifer won't be buried next to her husband, Harris said she knows they're at peace. "They're together now and nothing else can be done to them."

A memorial service for Jennifer Budrawich will take place saturday in North Georgia, while funeral services for Paul Budrawich are set for Monday in Effingham County.

A fund to help with funeral expenses has been set up at the Citizens Bank of Effingham on South Columbia Avenue in Rincon. Donations should be made out to Deborah Harris.

Jesse James Kilgore, Jennifer's stepfather, and his nephew are both faces charges of murder.