Rockdale man charged with strangling wife

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Conyers man is in jail, charged with strangling his wife and trying to cover it up.

Investigators said Hakim Muhammad, 42, staged a fake burglary in an attempt to conceal the death.

Rockdale County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Conyers home Thursday morning for a report of a burglary. A neighbor called 911 after hearing glass break and spotting a strange vehicle in the driveway, said Sgt. Jodi Shupe, the sheriff’s spokeswoman.

But when deputies arrived they didn’t just find signs of the break-in. Shelia Renee Muhammad, 43, was dead inside the home, Shupe said.

“Ultimately because of the call from the neighbor, the deputies were able to intercept the suspect before he could finish his plan of concealing the murder and fleeing the scene of the crime,” Shupe said.

Investigators questioned Hakim Muhammad and determined that he had staged the scene to look like a burglary, she said.

Investigators believe the murder had been planned at least a day prior.

“The suspect had removed the victim's wedding band and had it in his pocket at the time of his arrest – a further attempt to make it look like a burglary,” Shupe said Sunday.

Muhammad, 42, is being held in the Rockdale County jail on charges of murder and concealing a death. Investigators released details about the homicide on Sunday.

The couple was living in separate homes in Conyers.

The Department of Family and Children Services took custody of their two sons until relatives arrived from outside of Georgia, Shupe said.

He has a 14-year-old son from another marriage and she leaves a 10-year-old son from a previous marriage, deputies said.