Police: Death of Marietta MMA fighters was murder-suicide

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Marietta police said Thursday that two mixed martial arts fighters whose bodies were found in their Springdale Drive home Wednesday night died in a murder-suicide.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Ina Sexton walks by the house Thursday morning where two people were found dead. Marietta police are investigating the deaths of the man and woman whose bodies were found there.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Cobb County animal control officer J. Knowles brings out a dog from behind the residence on Springdale Drive.

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Georgia Fighters Wilbur Carl "Sonny" South

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Georgia Fighters Mary Ellen Cano

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The two were identified Thursday as Maryellen Cano, 32, and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Wilbur Carl South.

Both are MMA fighters who have appeared on fight cards at Wild Bill's in Duluth. South fought under the name Sonny "The Pitbull" South.

About 6 p.m. Wednesday, Cano's father came to police headquarters to report that his daughter had been missing for the past two days, Marietta police spokesman David Baldwin said.

"The investigation led to Maryellen Cano's residence," Baldwin said. "Officers were unable to make contact with anyone at the residence, but Maryellen Cano's vehicle was still parked in the driveway."

Officers contacted the property's owner, went in and found Cano and her boyfriend dead.

Baldwin said the two had an on-going domestic dispute, and South apparently shot Cano, then turned the gun on himself.

A Cobb County Animal Control officer who showed up at the house Thursday morning to pick up a small dog that was in the yard told the AJC that two pit bulls had to be removed from inside the house before the investigation began Wednesday night.

David Oblas, co-publisher of Georgia Fighters magazine, promoted fights at Wild Bill’s that featured Cano and South. He said he was “pretty shocked” at the news of their deaths. “It hit me out of nowhere,” he said.

“I just saw Maryellen Saturday night and she was smiling and in a good mood,” Oblas said.

“Maryellen was one of those girls that’s just always smiling and in a good mood,” he said. “For being a girl that punched other girls in the face for a living, she was just very well respected by everyone.”

South, Oblas said, was “one of the most ferocious guys in the ring.”

“I’d describe Sonny as someone that could be real fun and mellow outside the ring, but once you got him in the ring, his demeanor totally changed, and that is a good thing for someone that fights for a living,” Oblas said.

He said that South, who had been fighting since 2008, and Cano, who first fought in 2009, had been dating for about two years.

“I’d describe their relationship as off-and-on,” Oblas told the AJC. “They’ve had problems just like any other couple has had their problems, but they were trying to work it out.”

The home where the bodies were found is in a neighborhood just off North Marietta Parkway, between Cobb Parkway and I-75.

Neighbor Ina Sexton said she has never noticed any trouble at the house where the couple lived.

“It’s always been a real quiet street,” Sexton told the AJC. “We’ve been here eight years and we’ve never had any problems. It’s just a real friendly street.”

Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this article.