FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Hours after the friends and family of a Buckhead woman stabbed to death in her home held a candlelight vigil in her memory, the leader of the Buckhead City movement proposed renaming their proposed bill to allow a vote to break away from Atlanta in her memory.
77-year-old Eleanor Bowles was found stabbed to death at her home off West Paces Ferry Saturday. Police said her Lexus SUV was stolen at the same time. It was later recovered in DeKalb County, and detectives put out a photo of someone they called a person of interest.
Buckhead City CEO Bill White said he knew Bowles from several events in Buckhead through the years. He pledged to rename their bill after her. Addressing public safety concerns has been the cornerstone of the Buckhead City movement.
White said he was asked by three homeowners in the community where Bowles was murdered to place Buckhead City signs outside the entrance.
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“I would even think it would be good to honor Mrs. Bowles by putting her name on our bills to carry her message forward whether she was for Buckhead City or not,” White said. “We should honor her and all the people who have been killed in Buckhead, to end crime here. We owe it to Buckhead.”
But opponents to the proposed Buckhead City criticized that plan.
“No one should publicize a tragedy like this, especially when the family is grieving,” said Billy Linville of the Committee for a United Atlanta. “It’s inappropriate, and it’s very unseemly.”
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Linville said Atlanta Police and the Mayor’s Office are doing all they can to bring crime down across the city and in Buckhead, noting that criminals don’t take municipal boundaries into account when committing crimes.
“We can’t take our eye off the ball,” Linville said. “This horrific incident is a tragedy at the highest level, and we should support the family, and we should support the police.”
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While agreeing the murder is “a terrible thing,” White insisted Bowles’ death is “a marker for change.”
“I think it’s very unfair to say we are politicizing a crime,” White said. “Our job is for Buckhead City to become a city so we can end crime.”
White does plan to try and push his Buckhead City bill through the legislature when the session begins next month.
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