On Thursday evening, Anthony Tyrone Terrell gunned down his mother and two sisters at their home in Lawrenceville, GA according to the Atlanta Constitution. The 17-year-old boy shot and killed both his 11 and 4 year old sisters as well as his 39-year-old mother.
Joy Deleston was an actress who appeared in locally produced films as well as a 7 ½ year veteran of the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s office. Her daughters, Jelani (4) and Micaiah (11), also died of gunshot wounds. The youngest daughter’s father according to child support papers was rapper Juvenile. The rapper, whose real name is Terius Gray, has yet to comment on the incident.
Police responded to reports of shots being fired at the home and when they arrived, found a bullet in the house next door. After entering the home, they found Micaiah and her mother dead inside the front door. The officer’s then went upstairs and found the body of the 4-year-old. Officers were still at the scene when Terrell arrived at the house.
“Investigators interviewed Mr. Terrell and as a result of the interview, there was enough probable cause to charge him with the murder of his mother and two sisters”, officer Illana Spellman stated to the newspaper. The motive for the shootings is still under investigation.
Terrell was a sophomore at Central Gwinnett High School and has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of aggravated assault. The firearm used in the slayings was recovered after Terrell advised police where he disposed of it.
People close to the family were shocked by Terrell ’s actions as a director who worked with Deleston noted that the boy was “a good kid”.
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