In 2008, a man who had received a heart transplant 12 years prior and later married his donor’s widow would end up dying the same way his donor did, according to police. Authorities did not find any evidence of foul play related to the death of 69-year-old Sonny Graham, who died at his home in Vidalia, Georgia. Graham was found on a Tuesday in a utility building located in his backyard. According to special agent Greg Harvey with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, he suffered a single shotgun wound to the throat. Graham worked as the director of the Heritage Golf Tournament at Sea Pines from 1979 to 1983. He had been on the verge of dying from congestive heart failure by 1995 when he received a call that a matching donor’s heart became available in Charleston, South Carolina.
According to Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad, the heart belonged to a 33-year-old man named Terry Cottle, who had shot himself. Eternally grateful for his new heart, Graham started writing letters to Cottle’s surviving family to thank them. In 1997, Graham met Cheryl Cottle, his donor’s widow, who was 28, in Charleston.
“I felt like I had known her for years,” Graham told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet for a story in 2006. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I just stared.”
Sonny Graham received a heart transplant after donor Terry Cottle killed himself. Later, Graham married his donor's widow, Cheryl Cottle.
After being married to Cheryl for 12 years, Sonny shot himself to death in the exact same fashion as Terry did. #Facts pic.twitter.com/4WCEe2vow9— Facts | News | Amazing Stuff (@IamUnknownFact) May 4, 2020
By 2001, Graham had purchased a home for Cheryl and her four kids in Vidalia. Then three years later, they would marry after Graham retired from his job working as a plant manager for Hargray Communications located in Hilton Head.
Sonny Graham received a heart transplant after donor Terry Cottle killed himself. #DeepWebEnigma pic.twitter.com/PL26IhJYDN
— Deep Web Enigma (@deepwebenigma) March 8, 2017
They had six children and six grandkids across Georgia and South Carolina between the couple’s previous marriages.
Episode 30 – Sonny Graham. On March 31, 1995 Terry Cottle commits suicide. 13 years later almost to the day Sonny Graham commits suicide. What was the common denominator? They both shared the same heart and the same… https://t.co/FDMyBM9tU5
— The Coach (@mysteriousbrews) February 18, 2020
Cheryl, who was 39 in 2008, worked at several hospices in Vidalia. According to Graham’s friends, they remembered him for his willingness to reach out and help those in need.
“Any time someone had a problem, the first reaction was, ‘Call Sonny Graham,’ ” said Bill Carson, Graham’s friend for more than 40 years. “It didn’t matter whether you had a flat tire on the side of the road or your washing machine didn’t work. He didn’t even have to know you to help you.”
@BaileySarian you should check out Sonny Graham for a murder mystery Monday! Apparently this dude recieved a suicide victims heart, then years later killed himseld the same way. pic.twitter.com/HhkOvoeBIJ
— Liz Brandt (@bBronzedSunless) August 15, 2020
This case raised questions regarding the existence of genetic memory and the impact it could have on transplant recipients. Below, you can watch an in-depth video exploring this bizarre case.