Ex-wife of Atlanta Civic Leader Kills Children, Herself: Police

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
August 22, 2019News
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Ex-wife of Atlanta Civic Leader Kills Children, Herself: Police
Police tape in a file image. (Getty Images)

The ex-wife of an Atlanta Housing Authority board Chairman and Surgeon is suspected of killing her two adult children, and then killing herself on Aug. 21, according to police investigators.

Cobb County police identified the victims of the murder-suicide as Christopher Edwards II, 24, and Erin Edwards, 20, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). The suspect was identified as their mother, 58-year-old Marsha Edwards.

A spokesperson for the family told AJC that Christopher Edwards was notified of the death of his children. Their bodies were discovered in his ex-wife’s upscale Vinings townhouse when authorities were performing a welfare check.

The newspaper reported that around 6 p.m., Cobb County police went to the townhouse on Nobility Way in Vining Parc East, near Cumberland Mall on Aug. 21.

Police are unclear where the shooting took place.

“Dr. Edwards, his extended family, and friends are in a state of grief and shock, and privacy of the family is paramount as arrangements are being made,” Jeff Dickerson, the family spokesperson, said in a statement written to the news outlet.

As the news of the tragedy spread, the Atlanta Housing Authority Board Chairman received condolences from various people, including the Atlantan Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and her husband.

“Derek and I join the greater Atlanta community in mourning the loss of three members of the believed Edwards family. Chris and Erin were beautiful, vibrant, and brilliant young adults, whom we had the pleasure of knowing their entire lives,” Bottoms said. “They filled the lives of all who met them with joy, compassion, and kindness. May the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding, be with the Edwards family and all who had the honor to have known them.”

Police spokesperson, Officer Sydney Melton said: “Per investigators, evidence at the scene indicated that two victims were deceased due to gunshot wounds. The suspect was also deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

AJC reported that police are yet to release further information about the investigation, but people who might have more information regarding the case are encouraged to contact the Cobb County police.

According to the AJC, Christopher Edwards is an orthopedic surgeon who served on the board of trustees of the Morehouse School of Medicine. In the past, he served on the Grady Memorial Hospital board. His son, Christopher Edwards II, worked for the Atlanta Film and Entertainment Office as a digital content manager.

The daughter, Erin Edwards, became an intern for the mayor’s communication after graduating from Woodward Academy, according to the news outlet. She was also a student at Boston University.

Mother Killed in Murder-Suicide by Husband

A New Jersey mother was found murdered in her home on Feb. 4, and on the same day, her husband Kenneth Bartone apparently jumped from a bridge to his death. Officials said it was an apparent murder-suicide.

Kenneth Bartone was found dead on Monday afternoon in the Raritan River. His car was found at around 7 a.m. Monday, parked on the Thomas Edison Memorial Bridge, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Bartone’s wife, Denise Bartone, was found dead in the couple’s home in Freehold, New Jersey. Her death may have occurred while their three children were inside, said the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office in the report.

The girls weren’t injured in the incident, and they’re now staying with family members.

Officials are investigating the case as a murder-suicide, but many of the details aren’t clear. There was no suicide note, said Christopher Swendeman, a spokesman for the prosecution’s office, the Park Press reported.

Also unclear is how Denise Bartone was killed or who killed her. They also didn’t reveal who found her body, said officials.

She was the former chairwoman of the Freehold Township Education Foundation, said the Park Press.

Before her death, she worked at Rutgers University as a marketing specialist, a university spokesperson told the news outlet.

Kenneth Bartone, meanwhile, previously worked for Morris Plains-based Allied Signal as a scientist.

Ed Coughlin, a neighbor, said police swarmed the home on Koster Drive at around 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 4. He said the family, who he didn’t know well, moved to the area about a decade ago.

“A vehicle registered to the family was discovered parked on the Thomas Edison Memorial Bridge in Woodbridge early this morning,” the prosecutor’s office told Patch.com. “Kenneth Bartone, the husband of the victim, was found floating in the Raritan River this afternoon, dead of an apparent suicide. We do not believe there is any further danger to the public.”

NTD Staff Writer Jack Phillips contributed to this article.

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