Police received a call to perform a wellness check at an Atlanta apartment complex. When they arrived at the scene, they found that five people had been slain, including two young children, in what appeared to be a domestic-related murder-suicide.
The victims included a 43-year-old woman, a 32-year-old man, a 26-year-old woman, a 5-year-old girl, and a 1-year-old boy. All of the victims had fatal gunshot wounds.
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Police do not know who the shooter was.
The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. on December 7, 2024, inside the apartment, WSBTV reports. Police have yet to determine who was the shooter in the murder-suicide. They’ve also stated that they cannot confirm how all of the victims were connected to one another. Authorities are in the process of notifying surviving family members.
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A family member identified the victims.
Chanel Carter, one of the victim’s daughters, is the one who alerted authorities, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. “I flashed my own light in the back window,” Carter, who went to the apartment with police, explained. “That’s when I saw a body on the floor and a baby’s foot on the bed.”
Carter identified the deceased as her 43-year-old mother Mollian Johnson, her 25-year-old sister Kaylyn, her 5-year-old niece Jedorah Powell, and her 1-year-old nephew Jontavious Powell. The fifth person was Jonathan Darden, Mollian Johnson’s boyfriend.
Carter knew something was wrong when her mom wasn't responding to her texts.
Carter said the last time she saw her mother was last week in the hospital. She knew something was wrong when her mother did not text her back. “The next two days, she wasn’t responding to me,” she said.
She accompanied police on the wellness check and saw the bodies. “They were in the house five days dead,” she said. “I’ll never be able to talk to her or laugh with her again,” Carter said about her sister. “Or talk with my mom, or laugh with my mom again, or hug any of them.”
'I can't stomach it,' someone who knows the family said.
A woman who knows the family, spoke anonymously to 11 Alive about the victims . “I can’t fathom it,” she said. “I can’t stomach it. It’s hard to believe. If you had ever seen this family, you wouldn’t believe that it would go out like that, that it would play out like that.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
