On the late afternoon of March 17, 2017, a domestic dispute in the parking lot of an Ingles grocery store in Auburn, Georgia, ended with Dorothy Russell found in her vehicle with a gunshot wound. First responders arrived at about 5:00 p.m., but she succumbed to her injuries and died in the parking lot. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Decatur.

The primary suspect was identified as Dorothy’s 50-year-old husband, Darrin Russell. Witnesses reported seeing him leave the scene; deputies from the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office located and arrested him about an hour later without incident. He was charged with one count of murder and booked into the Barrow County Jail; the case was transferred to Superior Court. Dorothy Russell worked as a paraprofessional at Auburn Elementary School and her death prompted counselors to be made available at the school.

If anyone witnessed the incident in the Ingles parking lot or has information about what happened that afternoon, please come forward.