Georgia mom killed by boyfriend at her job in murder-suicide
"She was my best friend, my rock. She taught me what being a mother was all about," the victim's mother wrote on GoFundMe.
A young Georgia mother has lost her life due to domestic violence.
On Monday, investigators reported Leilani Billingsley was fatally shot allegedly by her boyfriend before he turning the gun on himself. The Georgia woman leaves behind a six-year-old daughter, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Based on eyewitnesses and video information obtained by detectives at the scene, it was determined that Mr. Sullivan had physically assaulted Ms. Billingsley before shooting her,” said Cobb County police spokesman Sgt. Wayne Delk in an emailed statement. “He then turned the handgun on himself and shot himself.”
Around 11 a.m, shots were fired in the rear parking lot of Riverside EpiCenter, located on Riverside Parkway near Austell. According to Delk, the couple was discovered deceased with gunshot wounds.
Read More: Atlanta’s first openly gay City Councilman Antonio Brown jumps in mayoral race
“I knew they bickered a lot, but that was it,” said the victim’s mother, Alyson-Renee Johnson, to AJC on Tuesday.
“Our hearts go out to the family of our beloved team member, especially the young child,” said Christopher Boyd, the general manager of Riverside EpiCenter, in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “Many of our staff are grieving and our attention now turns to loving and caring for those who remain.”
The couple had been together for approximately four years and lived together in Austell with the victim’s six-year-old daughter, Queen-Archee. Billingsley’s mother said she was unaware her daughter was in an abusive relationship and has yet to tell her granddaughter what happened to her mother.
The family has created a GoFundMe to support the child.
“I feel like I failed my baby,” the grandmother wrote to the GoFundMe. “She was my best friend, my rock. She taught me what being a mother was all about.”
The tragedy come weeks after another Georgia woman was allegedly fatally shot by her boyfriend who then turned the gun on himself.
Kira Ammons of Monticello was shot several times on April 25 in Georgia. She was just 41-years-old, per WGXA. Witnesses saw the victim’s partner, 38-year-old resident of Eatonton James David Mathis, shoot and kill the victim in Jasper County.
Read More: Georgia man on way to prison escapes at store after another man escapes at Atlanta airport
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, upon arriving at the suspect’s home in neighboring Putnam County, he opened fire on a Putnam County patrol car. Mathis was found dead near his trailer on top of a Hi-Point .380 carbine rifle, the gun he may have used to take his own life.
“He greeted them with gunfire,” said Putnam Sheriff Howard Sills, according to The Telegraph. However, the deputies did not return fire.
“They didn’t even know the car was hit until after we found (Mathis) dead,” said the sheriff.
Phillip Marks Sr., a childhood friend of Ammons, said she was a special person, per WXGA.
“Kira being the only girl, she was the cheerleader for both sides,” he added in reference to when they would play sports as kids.
He said he learned about the tragedy via text. “I pulled to the side of the road and I was in shock. I had to get my bearings together.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!
