The story of River Road Counseling and Consulting Services actually begins on May 14, 1973, with a tragic event that deeply impacted the Alday family and the community of Donalsonville, Georgia. On that day, six members of the Alday family were brutally murdered at their family farm on River Road in Donalsonville, Ga. Mary Alday was Mary Alday was raped repeatedly before her body was disposed of in a large fire ant bed. This horrific crime, known as the Alday murders, became the second largest mass murder in Georgia’s history, causing widespread panic across the state. Prosecutors later called the slayings the most gruesome murders in the state's history.
The killers fled Georgia but were eventually captured in West Virginia, where they were found with weapons and property belonging to the victims. Carl Isaacs, Wayne Coleman, George Dungee, and Billy Isaacs were convicted of the murders. While Carl Isaacs, Coleman, and Dungee received death sentences, Billy Isaacs cooperated with authorities and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The crime’s notoriety grew, fueled by Carl Isaacs’s lack of remorse and inflammatory statements mocking the Alday family.
The trials of the convicted were overturned in 1985 due to excessive pretrial publicity, leading to retrials in 1988. Carl Isaacs was resentenced to death and executed in 2003 after 30 years on death row; he never expressed remorse and at the time of the execution, he was the longest serving inmate on death row in any state in the United States. George Dungee and Wayne Coleman received life sentences after the retrials. George Dungee died of a heart attack on April 4, 2006, in prison in Reidsville at the age of 68. Billy Isaacs was paroled in 1993 after serving 20 years of his sentence. He later died in Florida in 2009 at the age of 51. Wayne Coleman is currently incarcerated. He is eligible for parole but has been denied by the Parole Board every time thus far.
For the surviving Alday family, the aftermath was devastating. The farm, which had been in their family for over a century, was sold as there was no one left to work it; for them it was the final casualty of May 14, 1973. Paige Barber, the granddaughter of Ned Alday, has dedicated her life to preserving her family’s memory and advocating for crime victims. In 2003, she successfully lobbied for the Alday family bill, ensuring crime victims’ families are updated in death penalty cases twice a year. Prior to the passing of the bill, it was difficult for crime victims to gain information about any developments in their cases. She has spent a lot of time sharing the Alday story to spread awareness for victims of crimes.
Paige’s career in corrections began in 1998 as a probation officer and her perspective shifted from punishment to a desire to help those involved in the criminal justice system, thereby sparing other families the grief endured by her own. With 27 years of experience in cognitive behavioral programs and addiction counseling, Paige is an Internationally Certified Addiction Counselor and Medication Assisted Treatment Specialist. She is a fierce supporter and advocate for addiction recovery, victims’ rights, and criminal justice reform.
In 2015, Paige participated in Georgia’s Victim Offender Dialogue program, meeting with Wayne Coleman to understand his actions and identify missed opportunities for intervention. This experience reinforced her commitment to addressing the root causes of criminal behavior to prevent future tragedies, as she saw many times when he could have received treatment and perhaps a different outcome for her family.
River Road Counseling and Consulting Services was founded to honor the Alday family’s legacy and provide hope and support to those struggling with addiction. Paige’s idea, which she calls “The Alday Effect,” emphasizes the power of helping individuals in the criminal justice system to prevent harm to others and is the driving force behind River Road Counseling and Consulting Services. By offering compassion, hope, and high-quality services, she continues her family’s tradition of giving back to the community and reminds us that everyone is worthy of redemption and forgiveness; sometimes they just need a little help along the way.
