The Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office has ruled the death of a Rutledge man a homicide.

Edwin Earl Cosby, 78, of Rutledge was found dead in the office of Cosby’s Auto Sales on Monday afternoon.

“We’re treating this as a homicide, because of certain things we found at the scene,” said Crenshaw County Sheriff Mickey Powell.

“An autopsy is being done. We’ve received some information from it, but haven’t gotten the final results yet.”

Powell stated that it was Cosby’s wife who first tipped off the Sheriff’s Office that something was amiss. When he did not return home after work, she reported him missing.

“We’re still interviewing folks and talking to people. We’re doing the process of elimination now,” Powell said.

“We would like to ask the public if they saw someone there at the shop with him Monday afternoon, or maybe a strange vehicle, let us know or call the Sheriff’s Office. We would like to talk to them. It may be something we already know, but then again it may not.”

Currently there are no suspects in the case, and Powell says that it is too soon to tell anything definite. It has not yet been determined where the attacker came from, and Powell says the suspect could have come from Rutledge or potentially from surrounding areas.

Until more information is released, Powell urges the community to remain cautious and report any pertinent information.

“This case is wide open. We haven’t pinned anything down to anybody,” Powell said.

“It could have been somebody from Montgomery coming down to buy a vehicle. I can’t exactly say that it was someone who lives in Rutledge.”

If anyone has information regarding this case, please call the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Department at (334) 335-6568.