Tragic end to standoff — ‘We’ve got to bury three’

Sandra White and her 16-year-old son, Arkeyvion White, were killed inside their Henry County home.

Credit: Handout from family WSB-TV

Credit: Handout from family WSB-TV

Sandra White and her 16-year-old son, Arkeyvion White, were killed inside their Henry County home.

She was due to deliver a baby boy in less than four weeks, and Sandra Renee White had already received gifts from her family, friends and co-workers. But a Facebook post Wednesday night seemed to imply something wasn’t quite right in the Henry County woman’s life.

“You should be with a person you can grow with,” White posted online. “Not with someone that don’t have any goals in life. Life is too short to be unhappy everyday! Every one is just not meant to be.”

By Thursday morning, White was dead. Investigators believe she was shot by her live-in boyfriend who was also the father of her unborn child. After killing White, Anthony Bailey allegedly fired and injured two Henry police officers.

RELATED: Pregnant woman, teenager found dead when standoff ends

ALSO: Domestic violence deaths rise in Georgia

And he wasn’t done. When officers entered White’s Eagle Court home, they found three bodies: White, her 16-year-old son, Arkeyvion, and Bailey. Investigators believe he killed the mother and son before turning the gun on himself.

According to family members, White had asked Bailey to leave her home, but he refused.

The ordeal began Thursday when a relative called 911 to report possible violence in the home, according to Capt. Joey Smith with Henry police. When two officers arrived and entered the home, both were shot.

April 5, 2019 Stockbridge: Kathie and Johnny White, parents of deceased daughter, Sandra White said they were planning a baby shower on Saturday. Police work the crime scene in the 300 block of Eagle Way in Stockbridge Friday morning, April 5, 2019 where an hours long standoff ended tragically with 3 people dead.The man accused of shooting two police officers and killing his girlfriend, her teenage son and then himself fired hundreds of rounds at officers, Henry County police Chief Mark Amerman said Friday morning. But Anthony Bailey shouldn’t have had a gun at all. He’s a convicted felon and served nearly two years in prison for an aggravated assault conviction in the 90s, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Bailey allegedly killed Sandra White, who was pregnant, inside her Stockbridge home Thursday morning. Then, he shot two officers who arrived at the home. Officers Taylor Webb was shot in the chest and hip and Keegan Merritt was shot in the hand, Amerman said. Each had been on the force for seven years and both remained Friday at Grady Memorial Hospital. Both should survive their injuries. Officers negotiated with Bailey for hours, but he refused to surrender. “We tried to do everything we possibly could to bring this to a peaceful resolution,” Amerman said. After deploying gas into the home, Bailey again fired at officers and an armored truck, but no one was injured, Amerman said. Around 3 a.m., Georgia State Patrol troopers entered the home and found three bodies: Bailey, Sandra White and Arkeyvion. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

icon to expand image

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

The officers survived their injuries and were being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital. But at White’s Eagle Court home near Stockbridge, Bailey refused to surrender to police.

While anxious neighbors awaited answers, relatives of those in the home couldn’t contain their grief, fearing the worst. Those closest to White later learned she was the alleged victim of domestic violence. White, who worked as a nurse at WellStar Atlanta Medical Center, was 39. She had already named her baby Antonio. She planned to continue her education and become a nurse practitioner, her parents said.

Sandra White and her son Arkeyvion White.
 Sandy White was pregnant when she was killed Thursday, April 4, 2019. Her 16-year-old son Arkeyvion White was also killed. The suspected gunman is Anthony Bailey. Police discovered of their bodies after an hours-long standoff in Henry County that ended in the predawn hours of Friday, April 5, 2019. Bailey also died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted wound, police say. (Sandra White's Facebook Page)

Credit: HANDOUT

icon to expand image

Credit: HANDOUT

Arkeyvion White, whose nickname was Keyvo, was a sophomore at Dutchtown High School, where he played offensive tackle on the football team. He wore jersey No. 64.

A polite boy and an honor-roll student, Arkeyvion had a bright future ahead of him, Kathie and Johnny White said of their grandson. At 6-feet-4, he already towered over his mother.

On Friday, Kathie White shuddered to think of what Arkeyvion had endured while in the home with Bailey. Instead of a surprise baby shower, the family must now plan a funeral.

“We’ve got to bury three,” Kathie White said. “It’s gonna be hard. But by the grace of God, I know we can do it.”