WALTON COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities in two Georgia counties are looking for a man they say killed his wife.
Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said authorities received a call from the victim's home on Knox Chapel Road around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Deputies found the victim shot to death and her estranged husband, Jerome Mobley, missing.
Deputies say they found weapons in the home.
Channel 2's Tom Jones spoke to neighbors who said the victim had told them her estranged husband was abusive and out to get her.
Neighbors also said it’s possible the victim may have exchanged gunfire with Mobley.
“We may suspect that he has been injured. We don't know if it’s from a gunshot or what,” Chapman said.
Now a massive search for Mobley is underway.
“The truck that he left the residence was found a mile and half down the road over in Morgan County,” Chapman said.
NewsChopper2 was high above a wooded area Wednesday as more than 40 law enforcement officers from Morgan and Walton counties, the GBI, Georgia State Patrol and the Department of Natural Resources searched for Mobley.
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“Right now we're kind of letting the dogs and the helicopter lead us in the direction,” said Morgan County Sheriff Robert Markley.
People who live near the home where the crime happened said the victim was trying to escape an abusive marriage.
“You almost wonder if it was one of those situations where it was, if I can't have you, nobody else is going to have you,” said neighbor Marita Howard.
The sheriff office is not releasing the name of the victim yet.
Mobley was ordered to stay away from his wife and children in January after he was charged with cruelty to children, reckless conduct and making terroristic threats. His bond was revoked after he was accused of violating the conditions of it.
The couple’s children are with family and state children's services are involved.