Young couple found shot to death, car missing from Winder home, police say

WINDER, Ga. — The Winder Police department found a gruesome scene when they were asked to do a welfare check on a young couple over the weekend.

Police went to a home at 180 Bush Chapel Drive on Saturday, where they found the bodies of 29-year-old Marcus Gardner and 30-year-old Christina Virginia Smith.

Investigators determined that both had been shot.

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Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach spoke exclusively with the family of one of the victims. They said they think they know who is the killer.

“She texted me back and said, ‘I love you, mommy.’ That’s what she always said, or ‘I love you, too,’” Willie Mae Smith said.

That was Thursday, the last time Smith heard from heard daughter Christina. They think she and fiancé Marcus were killed later that day, on her 30th birthday.

Winder Police found the couple shot to death inside their mobile home Saturday after Smith failed to show up to work at a local hotel.

Investigators also think the killer took Gardner’s SUV, a light green Ford Escape.

Smith’s mother said the couple had a temporary roommate staying with them, a friend Marcus he grew up with, who moved in back in January.

“They were trying to help this man, and he just didn’t want to be helped,” Willie Mae Smith said. “They brought him back because he wanted to start a new life and let him stay there until he got on his feet” Willie Mae Smith said.

While police have not said he is a suspect, the family said they’re actively searching for him and believe he is responsible.

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A vigil for the couple is planned for 6:30 tomorrow night at the gazebo in downtown Winder.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding this investigation may contact the Winder Police Department at (770) 867-2156 or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 11 Field Office at 706-552-2309.

Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

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