In the 6 o’clock hour Tuesday morning, authorities in Gwinnett and Newton counties both found a woman’s body in a home, prompting two homicide investigations.
They now believe the victims were killed by the same man.
Arrief Lamont McKenzie, 49, of Covington, was arrested after officials accused him of killing both his estranged wife and his girlfriend, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Gwinnett police charged McKenzie on Tuesday afternoon in the death of 36-year-old Jillian Myles-Walters. Her body was discovered about 6 a.m. at the 2800 at Sweetwater complex after a neighbor reported a disturbance, police said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
The woman, who lived at the complex, was involved in a relationship with McKenzie, authorities said.
Other people were inside the apartment when the woman was killed, but no one else was injured, Cpl. Kathleen Adams said.
Just after 6:50 a.m., Newton County deputies responded to a house in the 100 block of Keyton Drive and found a woman, identified as Niki McKenzie, unresponsive inside the garage, the sheriff’s office said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators quickly tied McKenzie to his estranged wife’s death, Channel 2 reported.
“I pray that justice is served and I hope that this stays in his memory for the things that he has done,” Niki McKenzie’s son, Keith Martin, told the news station.
He faces felony murder charges in both counties, while he faces an addition aggravated assault charge in Gwinnett.
McKenzie remains in the Gwinnett jail without bond, according to online jail records.
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