Twin brothers 'beat journalist to death and encased his body in concrete so they could steal his rare Magic game cards worth $100k'



The victim: The body of Sean Dugas (pictured), 30, was found stuffed in a plastic bag, encased in concrete and buried in the Cormier father's backyard

The twin brothers accused of beating a journalist to death and encasing his body in concrete murdered him for his rare collection of Magic game cards, it was revealed today.

Christopher and William Cormier, both 31, from Georgia, were arrested last month after the body of Sean Dugas, 30, was found stuffed in a plastic bag, encased in concrete and buried in their father's backyard.

The Cormier brothers previously lived in Florida, where Dugas - who was a reporter at the Penasacola Journal News - was killed. The brothers then allegedly took his body when they moved from there three weeks ago to Georgia to move back in with their father.

When they showed up at their father's home, they said they had to bury a friend's dog in the back yard, to which he agreed.

Police found the body when they searched the premises on October 8.

Details of Dugas' death have now emerged.

In August, the Cormier brothers allegedly broke into Dugas' home and beat him to death so they could steal his collection of 'Magic: The Gathering' cards.

Police estimated the collection was worth up to $100,000, including a Black Lotus card worth $10,000 on its own.

The cards were subsequently sold in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee after they were stolen.

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Buried: Twin brothers Christopher and William Cormier, both 31, told their father they had buried a friend's dead dog in his backyard in Northeast Georgia, where human remains were found



Arrested: Christopher Cormier, 31, left, and his twin brother, William Cormier, were arrested and charged with concealing a death after burying a body in their father's backyard.

Magic: The Gathering, also known as MTG

Magic: The Gathering is a descendant of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. Players take on the role of wizards, known as 'planeswalkers' and use their cards as tools in fantasy battles.They employ spells, items, and creatures depicted on each card to defeat their opponent

But not all cards are equal or have equal power. Some cards can attack your opponent, others give you extra points.

Each player starts the game with 20 'life points' with the goal of eliminating the other players by damaging them via attacks with their cards until they reach zero points.

In the same way baseball cards are packaged at random, players may have to go through several packages of cards in search of a powerful and rare card.

The game has two elements to it - a collectible/monetary one and a social one.

Created in 1993, Magic has more than 12 million players in more than 70 countries, according to Tolena Thorburn, spokeswoman for Wizards of the Coast, the game's owner.

To date, more than 11,000 cards, each with a unique illustration and a description of the card's value in the game, have been created.

Gamers play with each other on a regular basis, some places even host Magic nights where they get together to play, trade and sell cards. Some even make a living off it with the rarest cards reaching up to $100,000.



Dugas was one of the most active members in the Magic community of Pensacola and knew the twin brothers because they too were part of the community, though were thought to have dropped off the scene a while ago.

Ed Nehring, the owner of a comics and gaming store where Magic players sometimes gathered, told WTSP : 'We've been doing this for 26 years, and we've never even had a fight. Stealing maybe, but murder never.

'From going from a docile environment to something of this nature, it's frightening.'

The close-knit Magic community are said to be still reeling from his death. He was a constant presence, and was known for having the best cards.

'He was a dominant figure in the Magic community,' a fellow gamer said. 'When news came of his death, it shook all of us.'

Investigators turned up at the Cormiers' father's home with a search warrant and before long, they spotted an area of freshly-turned dirt in the backyard where it appeared something had been recently buried.

After several hours of digging, authorities found the remains inside a blue storage container that was encased in concrete.

‘We were were able to cut the bottom away from [the container] and it was in fact a body [inside],’ an officer said.

A coroner found that Dugas died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head.

Dugas was reported missing in September after he missed a lunch date with a female friend. After repeated attempts to get in touch with him, she went to his apartment, which was empty except for a television, Capt. David Alexander of the Pensacola Police Department said.

Gruesome task: A digger uncovers a concrete slab in the backyard of a property in Georgia. The Cormier brothers had allegedly moved Dugas's body from Florida

Human remains: A close-up of the digger's work shows the concrete 'lump' under the slab, which police say contain the remains of Sean Dugas

Unearthed: Authorities dug up a blue plastic container encased in concrete that held human remains inside