A man and a woman were found dead Wednesday morning in what Decatur police investigators consider a murder-suicide at a downtown Decatur hotel.

Officers were called about 1:30 a.m. to investigate a report of gunshots at the Courtyard by Marriott on Clairemont Avenue, police spokesman Sgt. John Bender said in a news release Wednesday night.

They found 42-year-old Ranie Overman of Atlanta with at least one gunshot wound and 46-year-old Gerald Loch of Atlanta with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bender said in the release.

Police said the two were in a relationship.

“We do not believe there are any other suspects involved in this case,” Bender said, adding that no motive has been determined.

The GBI was requested to help process the crime scene.

A hotel guest said he heard 8 to 10 loud pops but assumed they were part of continuing New Year’s Day celebrations. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
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Hotel guest Mike Zabinski said he heard 8 to 10 loud pops but assumed they were part of continuing New Year’s Day celebrations.

“I was awakened by several shots, which I presumed were firecrackers, and I went back to bed,” Zabinski told AJC.com.

He said his family woke up Wednesday to find police officers in the elevator and more investigators in the hotel lobby.

In other news:

It happened inside a popular apparel store at the Town Center Mall in Kennesaw.

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Laurence Walker, a volunteer with the Cajun Navy Relief, left, takes two volunteers out on his boat on Lake Oconee to search for Gary Jones, Tuesday, February, 18, 2024, in Eatonton, Ga. The Putnam County sheriff is investigating and searching after Spelman College instructor Joycelyn Nicole Wilson and an Atlanta private school coach Gary Jones went missing on Lake Oconee over a week ago, Saturday Feb. 8th. The body of Wilson was found Sunday, Feb. 9th and Jones has not been found. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com