The Sanctity of Marriage Part 28742094

Stone Mountain man kills wife in front of children
By SAEED AHMED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/17/06

A man shot his common-law wife to death in front of his children Sunday afternoon, then took his own life while the kids ran to seek help, police said.

The couple had been fighting, and the woman had taken off with her children when the man jumped into her sport-utility vehicle as it pulled out of their house on Olde Scotland in Stone Mountain, DeKalb police said.

The man shot the woman, told the children to get out of the SUV, then killed himself while driving from the passenger?s seat, said police spokesman Jason Gagnon.

The three girls, ages 15, 12 and 6, ran to Belinda Staley?s door, screaming for help.

"The oldest kept saying, 'My daddy shot her, please don't let my mommy die," Staley said Sunday night.

While she was trying to calm the children down, she heard the second shot. The charcoal gray SUV came to rest on the side of the house, she said.

Police have not provided the identities of the man and woman.

The couple had a fourth child, a 14-year-old son who was at a sleepover at the time.