The GBI has been asked to investigate after a man suspected in a Middle Georgia slaying killed himself Sunday outside a grocery store in Griffin, authorities said.
Demonte Terrell Davis had agreed to surrender to authorities outside the Ingles on Zebulon Road shortly before 5 p.m. When he arrived in the parking lot, Davis got out of a vehicle, placed a gun to his head and fired a single shot, according to the Upson County Sheriff’s Office.
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, who was monitoring the surrender with Upson Sheriff Dan Kilgore offsite, said Davis was speaking with police and family members when he abruptly shot himself. Dix took to Facebook to address rumors surrounding the incident Sunday evening.
“To be clear, no officers fired a shot, no other person fired a shot, it was not a fight, it was not an argument over gas, there were no armed suspects that ran across the parking lot, there was no shootout, it did not involve Ingles, and it was not a random act of violence,” he said. “It was a choice that one individual made to take his own life in front of family members and officers.”
Davis had been wanted in the disappearance and death of Stanley Steverson, who was reported missing June 8 in Thomaston. His truck was located the same day in northern Upson County, and it showed evidence that Steverson had been killed, Kilgore said.
The Upson agency and the Thomaston Police Department had the help of the GBI to investigate the death, which they believe occurred on Rose Hill Drive. Steverson’s body has not been located, the Upson sheriff said.
No information about possible motive was released.
Deputies made contact with Davis by phone Sunday, and Kilgore said he agreed to meet them at the Griffin grocery store to be arrested. The GBI will handle the investigation into his death.
Davis’ wife, Amber Smith Davis, was arrested on a charge of concealing a death and is being held in the Upson County Jail.
Steverson’s death remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Upson County Sheriff’s Office at 706-646- 7903.
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