On the evening of October 7, 2016, 48-year-old Anthony Welch of Marietta was shot and killed while shielding his wife, Cynthia, during an attempted robbery in the parking lot of the Pappadeaux restaurant on Windy Hill Road. A man who had been hiding between vehicles ambushed the couple, demanded belongings and grabbed at Cynthia’s inexpensive costume necklace. When Anthony stepped in front of his wife, the attacker opened fire, fatally striking Anthony in the heart and wounding Cynthia in the arm. After the shooting the attacker ripped the necklace from Cynthia’s neck and fled on foot.

Investigators used restaurant security footage and a BOLO for a vehicle with Florida tags; a similar robbery days later at an outlet mall in Woodstock aided identification. On October 15, 2016, police located the vehicle at a Red Roof Inn in Marietta. The driver, Dylan Marquis Ledbetter, struck a plainclothes officer while trying to flee and was shot and wounded by another officer; the passenger, Demarious Kevauh Greene, fled but was captured. Ballistics tied a .380 caliber pistol found in the vehicle to the shooting that killed Anthony Welch.

Does anyone have information about Anthony, Cynthia, or the events that night that could add context to the victims or their actions?