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Mom fatally stabbed in argument over dishes

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/20/07 2:01 AM

A Marietta man was arrested overnight for allegedly stabbing and killing his mother during an argument over washing dishes.

Officers responding to a 9:50 p.m. domestic violence call at a home on Austin Avenue near Cobb Parkway “could hear a struggle inside the residence,” said Marietta police Officer Mark Bishop.

Bishop said witnesses who came to the front door told officers the suspect had stabbed the victim.

After using pepper spray to subdue him, police arrested 23-year-old Earnest Lee Walker. Walker’s mother, Katherine Fountain, was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where she died from stab wounds to her back and chest.

“It started at the dinner table,” Bishop said. “The mother had asked her son to do the dishes and they got into an argument about doing the dishes.”

Bishop said Walker then struck his mother, and when she threatened to call police, “he went and retrieved a knife and started stabbing her.”

Katherine Fountain and Earnest Lee Walker

The family had moved to Marietta from the Warner Robins area in December, Bishop said.

Fountain’s co-workers at a Goodwill store on Roswell Road in Marietta said they were shocked at the news.

“I’m crying in my heart for her. I just saw her yesterday. We were laughing together. And today she’s gone,” said Shinnara Houston, 36, who helped train Fountain after she started as a production associate two weeks ago.

“She was a nice lady. She made everybody laugh,” Houston said. “I’m going to miss her.”

Store manager Tracey Deal added, “She was a hard worker and a very positive person.”

Elaine Armstrong, spokesperson for Goodwill North Georgia, said a grief counselor would be brought in to talk with any employees who felt they needed help

In addition to felony murder and aggravated assault, Walker was charged with two counts of felony cruelty to children because two children witnessed the attack, Bishop said. He was being held Wednesday in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

Staff writer David Markiewicz contributed to this report.