Two people recently found dead after a standoff at a southwest Atlanta apartment complex were stabbed and strangled, arrest warrants obtained Friday reveal.
Officers responded to Oglethorpe Place on Oglethorpe Avenue shortly before 3 p.m. on March 7 to conduct a wellness check. They then made a grisly discovery at the complex, located within walking distance of the West End MARTA station.
Police made contact with a man, who they said refused to cooperate and “indicated that he would harm himself and others.” The man, identified by police as 44-year-old Neil Russell, barricaded himself inside a unit.
It was at that point that hostage negotiators were called to the scene. The man eventually complied with officers and was detained, police confirmed.
During a search of the home, authorities said they found two bodies.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified one of the victims Friday as Henrietta Russell, 59. An arrest warrant identified Marvin Spencer as the second victim.
“Due to the condition of the bodies, identification was not made until recently, and only for the female decedent,” said Jimmy Sadler, the chief investigator at the ME’s office, in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
According to warrants, Neil Russell is accused of stabbing Spencer “multiple times with a sharp object” and strangling Russell “causing her larynx to break which led to her death.” The warrants state that the deadly incidents may have occurred between Feb. 27 and March 7.
Maria Spencer, who spoke to Channel 2 Action News at the scene March 7 and identified herself as the daughter of Marvin Spencer, said he and his girlfriend were found in the apartment.
A third victim was inside at the time of the barricade situation. Neil Russell is accused of assaulting the victim with a knife and refusing to allow her to leave the apartment, warrants detail.
Russell is facing two counts each of murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, as well as one count each of aggravated assault and false imprisonment, court records show.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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