Atlanta mother fatally shoots daughter and son, kills herself hours after saying she 'could not ask for better children'
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A mother from a prominent and well-connected Atlanta family is believed to have fatally shot her two children and then turned the gun on herself hours after gushing on social media that she "could not ask for better children."
Cobb County police responded to a family home in a wealthy gated townhouse community called Vinings Parc East, 12 miles east of Atlanta, at around 6 pm on Wednesday, August 21, to conduct a welfare check, according to the Daily Mail.
On arrival, they found the bodies of Marsha Edwards, 58, along with her daughter Erin Edwards, 20, and Chris Edwards, 24, all suffering from gunshot wounds. Police said Marsha was the only one who died of "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," and are reportedly investigating the case as a double murder-suicide.
The motive behind the tragic killings remains unclear, and Marsha's social media posts in the days leading up to her and her children's death seemed to indicate that the family was doing good.
On Monday, August 19, two days before their death, she had posted pictures on her Facebook that showed her enjoying a vacation with Erin in Italy. Then, on Wednesday, the same day as the killings, she posted on Instagram, "I've had the best summer, first with Chris in Miami, and Erin in Italy. I could not ask for better children."
The children's father, Dr. Christopher Edwards, is divorced from Marsha and has been notified of their deaths. He released a statement via a family spokesperson which read, "Dr. Edwards, his extended family, and friends are in a state of grief and shock, and privacy of the family is paramount as arrangements are being made."
The family moved in some lofty circles in Atlanta and Georgia and was well-respected and admired in the community.
Christopher is a prominent orthopedic surgeon in the Atlanta area and is the son of the late Delmar Edwards, the first black orthopedic surgeon in Columbia, Georgia, and a highly-regarded member of the medical community. He also leads the Atlanta Housing Authority Board and sits on the board of trustees for the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Marsha had her fair share of credentials as well. She was a physician who owned medical supply company MME Enterprises, having founded it in July 2015. In April, she was named one of Atlanta's 100 most powerful and influential women by the Women Works Media Group.
Erin was a junior student of journalism at Boston University and had just wrapped up a summer internship with NBC New York, and her brother was a digital content manager for the city of Atlanta and worked in the Mayor's Office of Entertainment.
The family was close friends with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who released a statement mourning their deaths. "Derek and I joining the greater Atlanta community in mourning the loss of three members of the beloved Edwards family. Chris and Erin were beautiful, vibrant, and brilliant young adults, whom we had the pleasure of knowing their entire lives," she wrote. "They filled the lives of all who met them with joy, compassion, and kindness."