Marvin Spencer and Henrietta Russell, Atlanta, Georgia couple killed by woman’s son who engaged in armed standoff with cops leading to the discovery of a hostage victim at Oglethorpe Place apartment complex. No known motive.
An Alabama man is in custody after allegedly killing his mother and her boyfriend at an Atlanta, Georgia residence during which time the son had barricaded himself inside and initiated an hours long stand-off with police.
Marvin Spencer, 75, and Henrietta Russell, 40, were identified as the victims according to the man’s daughter, Maria Spencer, WSB reported.
The daughter told the outlet she had requested a welfare check after being unable to reach her father or Russell at their residence, at the Oglethorpe Place apartment complex.
Responding police arrived at the couple’s Atlanta residence about 3 p.m. on Friday only to be met with Russell’s armed son, who threatened to harm himself before retreating inside the apartment and barricading himself.
The son, whose identity has yet to be released, refused to let officers inside. Officers reported smelling a foul odor coming from the residence, WAGA reported.
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.
Cops came across the macabre sight of the deceased couple along with a a woman who had been taken hostage that day and held inside at knifepoint. Police said she was unrelated to any of the people in the apartment and had met the suspect earlier that 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 nor with their manner and cause of death. APD Lt. Andrew Smith said they had paid their rent a week earlier, leading to the potential the couple had been deceased for up to a week.
The suspect is expected to face murder charges as well as assault charges for the woman he held hostage when he is released from hospital.
Maria Spencer said her dad and his girlfriend had been together for about 10 years. She said he would have turned 76 years old on the day of the stand-off, March 7, WLTX reported.
Not immediately clear is how the suspect, who authorities said hailed from Alabama came to end up at the residence and what led to him killing his mother and her boyfriend along with him taking a third person hostage. Authorities continue to investigate.
