lot of `` forced moments '' with Zinkhan . The last such interaction came the afternoon of April 24 , the day before witnesses said Zinkhan , 57 , killed his wife and two others outside a community theater in Athens . Covington was walking down the driveway of his Bogart home to check the mail . Zinkhan had just done the same and was walking back to his house . Covington said hello and told Zinkhan that his son , a UGA student who used to mow the Zinkhans ' lawn , had recently seen Zinkhan on campus . `` He said , ` Yeah , that 's where I hang out , ' and turned and walked into the house , '' said Covington , who lived next door to Zinkhan for eight years . `` That 's mostly what it was with George , forced moments . '' It was odd for Zinkhan to say more than five or 10 words before disengaging , while his wife , Marie Bruce , was the `` polar opposite , '' Covington said , describing the 47-year-old thespian as engaging and vivacious . Despite the contrasts in personalities , Covington
ATHENS , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The body of accused triple killer and University of Georgia professor George Zinkhan was claimed by a relative Friday , nearly a week after Zinkhan was found dead , the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said . A studio proof shows professor George Zinkhan and his wife , Marie Bruce . A mortuary shipping service in Atlanta picked up Zinkhan 's body at the request of a son from a previous marriage , GBI spokesman John Bankhead said . Details on plans for the body were n't immediately available . Earlier Friday , Bankhead had said Zinkhan 's body -- found Saturday in a self-dug shallow grave -- could be headed to a pauper 's grave if the family did n't claim the body from the Athens-Clarke County coroner 's office by Saturday morning . Such a grave is typically reserved for unidentified bodies , unclaimed bodies or people without family members . Bankhead said the situation was rare and that it was unclear why the family had taken that long to claim the body of the professor , described by colleagues and acquaintances as aloof and eccentric . Neighbor Bob Covington remembers a