UPDATE [July 22, 7:29 p.m.]: Walter Lowe turned himself in to the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department about 3:40 p.m. without incident, Gwinnett police said.
ORIGINAL STORY: A 12-year-old boy found his mother dead in their Gwinnett County home and his stepfather is on the run, police said.
Walter Lowe, 51, is wanted on charges of aggravated assault, felony murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the shooting death of 46-year-old Erica Powell, Gwinnett police spokeswoman Michele Pihera said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation,” Pihera said, “a domestic dispute occurred between a husband and wife.”
The child had been in and out of the family’s home on Medlock Park Drive in unincorporated Snellville most of Thursday, police said.
He saw Lowe leave the house about 9 p.m., and didn’t notice anything suspicious, Pihera said.
“Between 9 p.m. and midnight,” Pihera said, “the child was inside the home unaware that his mother was deceased inside another bedroom.”
The boy called out for Powell about midnight. When she didn’t respond, he went to her bedroom, discovered she was suffering from a gunshot wound and called 911, Pihera said.
Authorities responded to the home and tried to revive Powell with an automated external defibrillator, Pihera said. Those efforts were unsuccessful.
According to police, Powell and Lowe had recently married but have been together for several years. Powell has six children, mostly from a previous relationship.
She lived in the Medlock Park home with two of those children. Only the 12-year-old was home at the time of the 911 call, Pihera said.
This wasn’t the first domestic dispute reported at the home, according to police. However, details about the previous incident were not available Friday.
Lowe is believed to be driving a 2001 Ford Expedition with Georgia tag RGJ 8749 to New York, where his mother lives, according to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB.
Anyone with information about Lowe's whereabouts is asked to call Gwinnett police at 770-513-5300. Tipsters can also remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477 or visiting crimestoppersatlanta.org.
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