The man accused of sexually assaulting and killing an Atlanta woman in 1991 wasn't arrested until March, when DNA linked him to the crimes.
But after 33 days in the Cobb County jail, George Frederick Gengarelly, 63, of Hernando, Fla., was found dead Friday from an apparent suicide, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office said.
On Jan. 12, 1991, Yvonne Weems, 37, was found dead, only partially clothed, off Lake Acworth Drive in Acworth, according to police. Weems had been shot to death and investigators also believe she had been sexually assaulted. Police never stopped investigating the cold case and issued warrants for Gengarelly more than 24 years later.
Address records showed that Gengarelly lived in Bartow County at the time of Weems’ death. His Adairsville address was about 25 miles north of the recreation area where the woman’s body was found.
From Georgia, Gengarelly moved to Florida, records showed. But he wasn’t always a free man.
In 1995, Gengarelly was charged with second-degree murder in Volusia County, and in 1998, he was sentenced to 15 years prison, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. On Dec. 16, 2009, Gengarelly was released from a Florida prison, records showed. Two years later, he was married.
Back in Cobb County, police issued an arrest warrant for Gengarelly, charging him with murder, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy, rape and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to police.
Gengarelly was arrested at his Florida home and booked into the Citrus County jail, and in April he was brought to Georgia and booked into the Cobb jail. Gengarelly was being held without bond awaiting trial.
