DV Murder in Cobb County

According to the AJC, a Cobb County man stands accused of killing his wife and then setting their home on fire.

Cobb County fire Lt. Denell Boyd told the AJC that the fire call came in at 3:05 a.m. Monday, and when firefighters arrived five minutes later, they found the brick ranch house, in the 3500 block of Ponderosa Lane off Powder Springs Road, fully involved in flames.

Later Monday, investigators searched for Michael Rowe, who was located just before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Walmart store on the East-West Connector near Powder Springs, Officer Kathryn Raines said.

Raines said Rowe was spotted by officers in the parking lot, in the 1995 Ford Taurus that police had issued a lookout for on Monday.

Raines said that Rowe put up no resistance, and was answering questions from detectives investigating the death of his wife. At 3 p.m. Tuesday, Michael Rowe was arrested at the Powder Springs police headquarters, according to jail records.

In addition to murder and arson charges, Michael Rowe has been charged with aggravated assault. He was booked into the Cobb County jail, where he was being held without bond, Raines said.

Investigators have not yet released the cause of death.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Rowe family.

Loganville Man Suspected in Possible Murder Suicide

Online Athens reports that a Loganville man is suspected to have killed his wife, then possibly himself.

Robert Cook, 52, was staying with his ex-wife, Judy Clay, 60, in Loganville when the two fought and Cook strangled her with an electrical cord, said Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman.

Authorities found Cook's body first, however. Greene County sheriff's deputies found Cook's remains Jan. 9 and asked Walton County deputies to notify his ex-wife, said Walton County Capt. Chris Cannon.

When deputies arrived at Clay's Walton County home about noon, they found her body inside, Cannon said.

Both deaths still are under investigation, and deputies are waiting on complete autopsy reports, he said.

Investigators don't know whether Cook took his own life on purpose or died accidentally, but he did take some drugs and alcohol, Cannon said.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Clay family.

DeKalb Murder, Attempted Suicide

A DeKalb County man allegedly stabbed his wife to death and then attempted suicide by poison. From the AJC:

The couple, whose names were being withheld until relatives could be notified, lived in an East Club Drive apartment, Mekka Parish, spokeswoman for DeKalb police, told the AJC.

A maintenance worker responding to an alarm found the couple inside their apartment Sunday in the Lenox Summit complex, Parish said. No one else was in the apartment at the time, she said.

Investigators believe the man fatally stabbed the woman and intended to kill himself, Parish said.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family.

DV Murder in Clayton County

According to WSB Channel 2, a Clayton County man called police on Thursday and confessed to strangling his wife to death.

Daniel said [Drew] Shepard’s wife, Aletha, was sitting at a computer when he approached her and attacked.

“He did use his hands, put them around her throat. There was a struggle. She began to fight back. He came from behind, and it appears it was a case of manual strangulation," Daniel said.

This case pretty clearly refutes the idea that DV homicides are crimes of passion that happen when emotions are running high. This couple was not in the middle of a fight. The victim wasn't doing anything to provoke his anger. According to his own account, she was seated and he came up behind her and used his own hands to kill her. This certainly doesn't sound like a man who just lost it.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shepard family.

Man Dies Protecting Son's Girlfriend

In a tragic story out of Cobb County, a man suffered a fatal heart attack while trying to stop his son from battering his girlfriend.

The warrant alleges Christopher Miller assaulted his girlfriend and tried to choke her with his hands. She had "red marks around her throat by her collarbones, on both sides of her neck," and "an abrasion to her forehead and a swollen and bruised lower lip," according to the warrant.

"Upon seeing this assault, Herschel Miller attempted to intervene to stop the assault," the warrant states.

Christopher Miller pushed his father to the ground and struck him several times, the warrant further alleges.

When police spoke to Herschel Miller, he confirmed the girlfriend's version of events, according to the warrant. "Shortly thereafter, Herschel Miller fell unresponsive," the warrant states.

The warrant says Christopher Miller was charged with felony murder because he caused the death of his father while committing aggravated assault against his girlfriend.

When family members call our hotline because they are concerned for the safety of a daughter, or sister, or other loved one, it is always a difficult conversation to have. On the one hand, we want family members to intervene and stop the violence. On the other, we don't want family members putting themselves at risk as well. Even the victim doesn't always know exactly what her abuser is capable of, and there is no guarantee that the violence won't spread. You should always create a safe space for family members and friends to open up to you about abuse they may be experiencing, but please use caution when confronting an abuser directly, and call law enforcement in cases of emergency. You don't want to become a domestic violence statistic any more than she does.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Miller family.