A body recovered from a well in Auburn on Friday has been identified as that of missing mother of four Tonya Faye Lynn of Winder.
Family members identified the body late Friday, prompting police to file felony murder charges against her estranged husband, James Lynn Jr., on Saturday.
James Lynn was already in Barrow County jail on obstruction charges after detectives concluded he gave them false information on his wife's disappearance, Winder police spokesman Chris Cooper said.
The Georgia Crime Lab was conducting an autopsy Saturday to pinpoint a cause of death.
Cooper said interviews with James Lynn and additional investigation led detectives to the well in a densely wooded area near the Gwinnett County border. Lynn also revealed some information about what had happened to his 38-year-old wife in those interviews.
"The autopsy will hopefully substantiate certain things he divulged in our interviews," Cooper said.
When Lynn's wife was reported missing Wednesday, police said they did not suspect foul play. But within 48 hours they began zeroing in on her estranged husband. Detectives interviewed the 42-year-old mechanic all morning and into the afternoon, Cooper said.
Lynn's niece, Christa Royster, received a text message from her aunt's cell phone around noon Wednesday asking her to take care of the woman’s children. The text had been sent earlier that morning, police said.
Royster immediately returned the call but Lynn's phone was turned off, police said. The niece discovered Lynn's abandoned vehicle in a library parking lot not far from her home, according to investigators.
The last known contact anyone had with Lynn was shortly before midnight Tuesday. She did not show up for work Wednesday morning at Athens Regional Medical Center, police said.
The Lynns, who were living apart, had a tumultuous marriage. A Barrow County judge issued a temporary protective order earlier this year, prohibiting Lynn from having any contact with his wife.
James Lynn was charged with battery in May after an incident in which he allegedly threw his wife off a mattress, injuring her knee. During one incident in which police were dispatched to the couple's home, Tonya Lynn told an officer her husband "has a violent history."
About the Author
