Shock Waves in Atlanta Over Murders in Prominent Family

Shock waves in Atlanta over a suspected murder-suicide involving a well-known family. Marsha Edwards, 58—founder of medical equipment supply company MME Enterprises as well as the ex-wife of local civic leader and orthopedic surgeon Chris Edwards—is believed to have killed her two adult children and herself. Cobb County police found the scene Wednesday at a townhouse in the Atlanta suburb of Vinings after being asked to do a wellness check, reports NBC News. Marsha Edwards' body, with what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was discovered alongside those of son Chris Edwards Jr., 24, and daughter Erin Edwards, 20, both of whom had been shot, police said. In a statement, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms mourned the "beautiful, vibrant and brilliant young adults" she'd known for "their entire lives."

Chris was a digital content manager for the city, per WSB. Erin, a Boston University student, was a former intern in the mayor's office who also completed a summer internship at NBC New York. Their father sits on the board of trustees for the Morehouse School of Medicine and is chairman of the board of commissioners for the Atlanta Housing Authority. "Dr. Edwards, his extended family and friends are in a state of grief and shock," a rep says, per WXIA. Shock is a feeling shared by many. In a two-day-old Instagram post, Marsha wrote, "I've had the best summer, first with Chis [sic] in Miami and Erin in Italy. I could not ask for better children." A neighbor describes the sudden turn of events as "unbelievable," per CNN. "They were wonderful people, which makes it a lot harder to just understand what went wrong." (More murder-suicide stories.)