An Atlanta couple was found dead, and the woman’s son has been taken into custody for their murders following a police response prompted by a welfare check, resulting in a standoff.
The deceased couple were identified by the police as an 80-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman. However, a woman claiming to be the man’s daughter said they were Marvin Spencer and Henrietta Russell in an interview with WSB.
She said she had requested the welfare check after being unable to reach her father or Russell.
Upon arriving at the apartment in Atlanta’s West End around 3 p.m. on Friday, the police encountered Russell’s son. He initially threatened self-harm before barricading himself inside the apartment.
According to WAGA, the man — whose identity has not been released — refused to let the officers inside. Officers reported smelling a foul odor from inside as well.
Police brought in negotiators and eventually talked the man into coming out after an hours-long standoff. He was taken to the hospital with self-inflicted cuts.
Once police got inside the apartment, they found the dead couple — and also a woman who had been held hostage at knifepoint. Police said she was unrelated to any of the people in the apartment and had met the suspect earlier in the day at a nearby transit station.
Spencer and Russell were pronounced dead at the scene, but police could not say how long the couple had been dead. APD Lt. Andrew Smith said they had paid their rent a week earlier.
The suspect is expected to face murder charges as well as assault charges for the woman he held hostage when he is released from the hospital.
