ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities are investigating a deadly shooting that left two people dead and another seriously injured Saturday afternoon in Elbert County.
Elbert County Coroner Chuck Almond said 62-year-old Refugio O. Torres and 31-year-old Moriah Lane Mills both died from gunshot wounds. Their bodies have been sent to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.
The investigation began shortly before 4 p.m. on November 29 when Elbert County E911 received a call about a man who had been shot. Deputies and EMS responded to the scene near Martin Villa Drive and Pleasant Hill Road. An ambulance rushed the victim to Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital.
Suspect found dead
As deputies searched for the shooter, Almond said dispatchers received a second 911 call reporting a woman matching the suspect’s description in a yard on Pulliam Mill Road, along with a vehicle crash at the same location. When they arrived, deputies found two people dead.
Almond pronounced Torres dead at the scene “from an apparent gunshot wound,” and Mills was also pronounced dead “from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to the coroner’s office.
“We extend our sincere condolences to everyone affected by this tragic incident,” said Almond.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now leading the case with assistance from the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office and the coroner’s office.
