Man killed wife in front of courthouse after leaving hearing before shooting himself

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix is sharing new details about a shooting near the county courthouse that left one person dead and another injured.

The sheriff did not release the victims’ names but identified them as Mr. and Mrs. Mallory.

He says the couple were leaving the courthouse after a hearing when they got into separate cars.

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Dix says Mrs. Mallory got in her car and Mr. Mallory drove by and stopped beside her car and fired several shots through his passenger window and into her car. She did not survive her injuries.

Officers tried pulling Mr. Mallory’s car over, but he did not stop initially. Eventually, he stopped and shot himself in the head. The sheriff says he is still alive.

The sheriff says he is sharing the details because of rumors on social media claiming Mrs. Mallory asked a deputy to escort her to her car and was denied. He says that is not true and video surveillance from the courthouse shows her walking through the lobby and to her car without talking to deputies. He says she did ask clerks in the Magistrate Court, but did not ask a deputy.

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He says there have been several cases where deputies were called to the Mallory’s home, even describing their relationship as “toxic.” In most of those cases, Dix says it could not be determined who was the primary aggressor and no one was arrested.

On one occasion, Mr. Mallory was arrested but posted bond.

“No one is blaming Mrs. Mallory for what happened to her. We have to take facts and evidence and weigh them against the law in order to act. This is a horrible thing that happened and people are emotional and angry about it,” the sheriff wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.

There is no word on the severity of Mr. Mallory’s injuries or what charges he will face.

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