The ex-girlfriend of a Fayette

man who was found shot to death in his home Monday morning believes he

was trying to get to his gun to defend himself from his killer.

Terri Gilman said David Mangham's

sister told her deputies found a gun near his body in the master bedroom

of his home in the Princeton Chase subdivision of north Fayette County

just off Ga. Highway 314 near Ga. Highway 279. Another man, Francis Michael

Fowler of Ellenwood, was found shot to death in the kitchen area, according

to deputies.

Police said Fowler occasionally

did some auto body work for Mangham in a garage at the rear of the home.

Officials are working on the theory that both men were shot by a third

person.

"I just hope they find

out who did it," said Gilman, of Fayetteville, who remembered that

Mangham always called to wish her a happy birthday. He couldn't do that

Monday as she turned another year older and mourned the death of a close

friend. "I can't imagine ... From what his sister is telling me it

was just so violent."

Fayette County sheriff's spokeswoman

Sgt. Belinda McCastle declined to talk about the evidence found at the

scene. Detectives are investigating the case as a double murder, she confirmed.

The initial investigation indicated

that Mangham led a double life of sorts, with "a circle of friends

who may have been involved in illegal activities" in addition to

friends from church social activities, according to sheriff's officials.

Anyone with information on

the allegedly seedy side of Mangham's acquaintances is asked to contact

Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan or Sgt. Tracey Carroll at the sheriff's department

at 770-461-6353.

A bystander discovered the

bodies of Mangham and Fowler, who were both 48, Monday morning. Shots

had been fired in the residence, and Mangham's body was discovered in

the master bedroom of the residence while Fowler was found in the kitchen

area, said Sgt. McCastle.

Gilman said she dated Mangham

when he built the house himself and they remained very close even after

breaking off the relationship, which began through a meeting at New Hope

Baptist Church. Mangham was single and didn't have any children, she said.

Mangham always used to carry

a lot of money on him, saying he didn't trust banks, she said.

"I used to always get

onto him about that," Gilman said.

Neighbors recalled Mangham

having various persons at his home to fix up cars, sometimes even when

he wasn't there.

"He just seemed to have

a lot of friends," said B.T. Howell, who lives across the street

from Mangham's residence. "They would run the car real loud at times."

Howell's wife, DeVerne, said

it was unusual for Mangham's grass to get long since he was meticulous

about keeping the yard in good condition. It was also suspicious that

newspapers began to pile up in the driveway, she added.

B.T. Howell said Mangham had

an earth moving business and recently gave him advice on how to handle

a drainage problem in his front yard.

Mangham's love of restoring

classic cars led him to display his efforts at car shows at the GTO's

Drive-In restaurant, Gilman said. His latest auto project was on a car

of 1930's vintage, according to neighbors.

This would be Fayette County's

first intentional homicide since March 1999 when a drug dealer was shot

and killed, his body left in a subdivision under construction in north

Fayette County to burn in a sport utility vehicle.

Several defendants were convicted

of murder in that case, which prosecutors said spawned from a drug deal

gone bad that originated in south Fulton County.

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