GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County mother and actress is dead after a man cleaning his gun accidentally shot through a wall, killing her.
Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Tony Thomas was in Duluth, where Carlether Foley was killed as she slept last weekend. Police said a 22-year-old neighbor at the MAA McDaniel Farm Apartments accidentally fired through a wall, striking Foley in the head.
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Maxwell Williamson has been charged with misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter and is in jail.
Foley’s body was discovered by her teenage son.
Her brother, George Foley, said he was on the phone with his nephew shortly after the 17-year-old found his mother dead.
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“He was very hysterical,” Foley said. “It frightened him. He said he walked into the room but didn’t turn on the light. He called his mother’s name and she didn’t respond.”
Carlether Foley was an actress who moved to Atlanta from Houston to further her career. She appeared in several movies and plays.
Police said Maxwell was cleaning his gun on the other side of a common wall. His attorney, Jeff Sliz, said the gun accidentally discharged and Williamson went over and knocked on the Foleys door to check on them, but no one answered. He left a note offering to pay for the damage and then went to work, not realizing Foley was dead.
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George Foley said he doesn’t entirely believe that his sister’s death was an accident.
“It may have been an accident, but in my heart I don’t believe it,” George Foley said. “It just doesn’t sit well with me at all, it doesn’t. I can’t believe it.”
Williamson’s attorney said he hopes the charges will be dismissed when the investigation is over.
The Foley family is planning a funeral for next week in Texas. The family has started a gofundme to help with the costs of the service.