Authorities have identified a Powder Springs woman whose suspected killer was shot dead by police in Henry County hours after her body was found Thursday morning.
Debra Pollard Lalor, 65, was found in her townhouse after one of her work colleagues called 911 to request a wellness check around 9:30 a.m., according to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The circumstances of Lalor’s death led investigators to begin searching for her boyfriend, 64-year-old Arrett Carr, who was spotted by police later that day in Ellenwood, the AJC previously reported.
Carr spoke with responding Henry County police officers from inside his truck for about 10 minutes before he stepped from his driver-side door with a gun, the GBI said. According to police, he pointed the gun at the officers surrounding him, causing them to open fire. Carr died at the scene.
Lalor’s colleague requested the wellness check after he received a text from her that contained “bad language,” the incident report said. The man texted back and was able to figure out that he was communicating with Lalor’s boyfriend. He asked if Lalor was OK and received the reply, “No she’s talking to God now.”
According to the report, two Powder Springs police officers went to Lalor’s townhouse on Equity Lane to check on her. In the rear of the home, the garage door was open and Lalor’s car was parked there. The door inside the garage was also open to the interior of the house. The officers drew their weapons and announced themselves several times, but got no response.
Once inside, they found Lalor in the master bedroom, where she lay facedown on the floor covered in a towel. There was blood on the floor around her head, the report said. The officers checked the rest of the house and determined it was empty, then called in crime scene investigators to process the scene.
No cause of death was listed in the report, but the officers spoke with a neighbor and asked if he’d recently heard gunshots. The neighbor had not heard anything but did say they were familiar with Carr.
Later, at the scene where Carr was shot by police, Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett told reporters that Carr had been accused of beating his girlfriend to death.
The GBI announced Thursday that it is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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