Funeral set for slain Gwinnett deputy, 2 daughters


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/03/08

The funeral for Gwinnett County Sheriff's Deputy Joy Deleston and her two daughters will be held Saturday on James Island, S.C.

Deleston, 39, Micaiah Alique, 11, and Jelani Ayahna Deleston, 4, were found dead Thursday inside their home in Lawrenceville. Gwinnett County police say that Deleston's son, Anthony Tyrone Terrell Jr., 17, shot his mother and two sisters. Police have given no motive for the slayings.

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The viewing will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at The Palmetto Mortuary at 1122 Morrison Drive, Charleston. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church at 1101 Camp Road on James Island, outside of Charleston. Burial will follow at Stem Point Cemetery.

Deleston's mother and brother live in South Carolina, according to an obituary placed by the family.

Family members gathered for a private memorial service for at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula on Sunday. Members of the media were not permitted to attend.

Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway said he attended the memorial service Sunday along with several hundred people and found it very moving.

"It was tough," Conway said. "They had open caskets, which I didn't expect. It was hard to look at the children."

Deleston and her daughters are survived by Terrell; Joy's mother, Mildred Joan Richardson of Charleston; and brothers Nathaniel Deleston of Yokosuka, Japan, and Dwayne Deleston of Charleston.

Authorities found the three bodies inside of Deleston's two-story house on Madison Chase Drive on Thursday night after someone reported hearing gunshots inside the Madison Chase subdivision off Simonton Road.

Jelani was the daughter of rapper Juvenile, whose real name is Terius Gray.

Terrell reportedly implicated himself in the slayings when police questioned him and he told investigators where he disposed of the gun.

Terrell is being held without bond at the DeKalb County jail. A probable cause hearing for Terrell is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Gwinnett County Magistrate Court.

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