by Al Summers
News Editor
alsummers@timescourier.com
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The peace and serenity of a spring morning was shattered last Friday morning, April 16, with the murder of a mother and son by a father, who then turned the gun on himself. The incident took place on Angel’s Landing off Old Hwy. 5 South.
Found dead at the residence when sheriff’s deputies arrived were Stanley Thomas, 48, Wanda Thomas, 50, and Jonathan Thomas, 17. All died as a result of gunshot wounds from a .45 calibre revolver.
According to Chief Det. Stacy Nicholson, a man, who was later identified as Stanley Thomas, called the Gilmer County 911 center and reported his wife and son had been shot. Gilmer County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the location, and upon entry to the residence, they found three bodies.
Gilmer County detectives and an agent from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) were called to the scene to determine what had actually taken place.
Investigators initially treated the scene and event as a triple homicide, but evidence later suggested it was a double murder and suicide, which was later confirmed by the Georgia Crime Lab. The bodies were sent to the crime lab, and results from tests and toxicology reports will be available in a few weeks.
Nicholson told the Times-Courier, “We do not know exactly what happened or why. No suicide note was found. We believe Mr. Thomas killed his wife and then his son, called 911, and then killed himself before deputies arrived. This was a tragedy.”
The murders were Gilmer County’s first two for 2004, and the suicide was the third for 2004, and the second one in the past two weeks.
The chief detective said, “This case will officially remain open until we get a hard copy conclusion from the crime lab, and unless any new evidence presents itself to the contrary, the case will then be closed.”
Assisting Gilmer investigators with the investigation was agent Kenny Crook of the GBI.