Authorities released the identifications and more details Friday on the man and woman from Japan who committed suicide last week in Elbert County.
Ayatake Takarayama, 44, and Chieko Tomioka, 47, were found dead in a wooded area off Ga. 17 on May 25, Special Agent Jim Fullington of the GBI's Athens office told the AJC.
They survived the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but lost their home and came to the United States shortly afterward, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.
The preliminary investigation indicates that Tomioka ingested poison or chemicals, but it will be several weeks until the toxicology tests are completed, Fullington told the AJC. Takarayama died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the agent said. A cat also was found dead at the scene, he said.
Authorities received a 911 call indicating that the woman already had killed herself and the man intended to do the same, Fullington said.
"All indications are of a double suicide, no foul play," Fullington said.
The two died near a business owned by an acquaintance Takarayama worked for more than 10 years ago, the Banner-Herald reported.
Officials have not been able to confirm the relationship between Takarayama and Tomioka, the GBI agent said.
The families have made funeral arrangements through the Japanese consulate in Atlanta, Fullington said.
Long, detailed notes and documentation were left behind, Fullington said, but none cited the Japanese tragedy as a reason for taking their own lives.
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