Gretchen Fortney: Woman murders relative, strangling her with 'belt from her robe' after brutal assault
ROSWELL, GEORGIA: A Georgia lady has been accused of abusing an elderly female relative before killing the victim by strangling her with a robe's belt. Gretchen Lynn Fortney, 52, was arrested on September 30 and charged with various brutal offenses.
One of Gretchen's charges involves one count of murder in the commission of a felony in relation to the death of Martha Fortney, 78, according to court documents analyzed by Law&Crime. She has been accused of two more felonies, including aggravated assault and aggravated assault with strangulation. The East Cobb News was able to receive a copy of the probable cause affidavit, which states that Gretchen is charged with assaulting Martha at a home in the 3900 block of Loch Highland Pass in Roswell at roughly 5.11 am on September 30.
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While the manner in which the Cobb County Police Department received information about the alleged assault is not known, at about 3.44 pm officers arrested Gretchen at a location in the 500 block of South Fairground. According to the arrest warrant, Gretchen fatally strangled Martha in her own house after savagely attacking her with "an unknown object or objects."
East Cobb News reported that the investigators believe Martha has many injuries to her head and torso. The warrant reportedly reads that "[Martha] was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck," adding that the victim also had a "visible ligature mark which resulted in her death."
Regarding the relationship between Martha and Gretchen, the authorities have not yet disclosed any information. Records indicate that she is still being held without bond. As of right now, there is no lawyer registered to defend the defendant against the felony accusations.
A similar incident took place in Ohio recently, when a 31-year-old man confessed to choking to death his 71-year-old mother after she got home from work on Friday, September 30. According to reports, the attacker, Travis J Lewton, admitted to investigators that he had been thinking about killing his mother, Nancy Lewton, for a week before the incident. The police were called on Saturday, October 1 in response to a report of a safety check for a person at a house in Toledo's 1800 block of Wildwood Rd. Nancy's body was found in a wooded area behind the house. Soon later, Travis was arrested and accused of planning and committing the horrible murder.