Saturday, April 10, 2010

Newton County, GA: Newton County couple identified; deaths ruled as murder-suicide

By Alexis Stevens and Kristi E. Swartz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

12:40 p.m. Friday, April 9, 2010
The Newton County couple found dead in their home Thursday has been identified as David and Laura Stomackin, Lt. Keith Crum told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The county medical examiner has ruled that their deaths were a murder-suicide, Crum told the AJC. Laura Stomackin, 49, died from gunshot wounds, and David Stomackin, 52, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Crum said.

A Newton County SWAT team found the two dead inside a home Thursday morning, according to the sheriff's office.

Investigators continue to look for a motive, Crum told the AJC. They did not find a suicide note, he said.

Deputies arrived at the home after a 10 a.m. call to 9-1-1 reporting that a husband had threatened his wife with violence, Crum told the AJC. Once at the home in the Fairview Chase subdivision, deputies couldn't make contact with a resident, he said.

At that point, the SWAT team was brought to the scene, Crum said. Deputies forced entry into the home, where they found the couple dead, he said.

Crum said investigators delayed releasing the names of the couple because they were still trying to notify one of the couple's adult children. The pair have a daughter and son who live in metro Atlanta, Crum said.

Crum told the AJC that deputies had never been called to the house before and did not have any prior police records on the couple.

"There's nothing in the files," he said. "It could be just a quiet couple."

Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.

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