A grand jury has indicted a woman accused of killing her 78-year-old mother by strangling her with a belt from a robe, according to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
Gretchen Lynn Fortney, 52, was arrested Sept. 30 after she allegedly assaulted her mother at a home on Loch Highland Pass, near Roswell.
“Said victim was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck and a ligature mark was visible,” the arrest warrant states.
Fortney, 52, also is accused of assaulting the woman with an unknown object to the torso and head, the warrant states. Martha Fortney died from her injuries, police said.
This week, Gretchen Fortney was indicted on eight counts, including malice murder, three counts of felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault and aggravated sexual battery, according to the district attorney. She remained Friday in the Cobb jail, where she is being held without bond.
No details about a possible motive have been released.
Martha “Marty” Fortney was an Illinois native and a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, according to her online obituary. She is survived by her husband of 57 years and a second daughter. Fortney was active in Bible studies at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and a local chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution.
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