On Sunday, the Atlanta Police Department released a photo of a person of interest in the stabbing death of a 77-year-old Buckhead woman. By Monday, detectives had their suspect in custody, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Monday.
Thanks to a tipster, 23-year-old Antonio Marquavis Brown was arrested in DeKalb County and was being questioned late Monday, Dickens said. He is accused of killing Eleanor Bowles in her Paces West Terrace home, according to police.
“Atlanta is a group project, and when we have horrific horrible incidents like this, it is important for us to come together and act,” Dickens said. “When something like this happens, the entire village is impacted and the entire village is called to support.”
Brown was charged with murder, aggravated battery, possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, elder abuse, and hijacking a motor vehicle, according to police. He was booked into the Fulton County jail late Monday.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Bowles was found in the garage of her home Saturday afternoon when a son arrived to visit for the holidays, according to her family and police. Investigators on Sunday released surveillance camera images of a person of interest seen near Bowles’ SUV.
Investigators have not released a possible motive for the killing. But they believe Bowles may have interrupted the suspect earlier that day, between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., as he tried to steal her 2021 Lexus Rx 350 from her home.
“The killing of Ms. Bowles is understandably rocking our community,” Dickens said. “And my heart aches for these family members, of whom I’ve actually spoken to.
Bowles, a grandmother of two, is survived by two sons and numerous other relatives and friends.
The homicide shocked the community, a gated neighborhood off West Paces Ferry Road, about 2 miles from the Georgia Governor’s Mansion.
“No one is safe anywhere,” Mary Norwood, an Atlanta city councilwoman, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “The city has become more and more lawless the violence has increased all over the city and it’s all horrible.”
Bowles’ killing was the 157th homicide this year for the city. Eleven of those cases have been in Atlanta police zone 2, which includes Buckhead. In 2021, Atlanta detectives investigated 160 homicides citywide.
In discussing violent crimes in Atlanta, police and city leaders have said most homicides stem from disputes that escalate into violence among people who know each other. Stranger-on-stranger crimes are rarer. There is no indication that Ellen Bowles knew her attacker.
Late Monday, Deputy police Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said investigators believe Brown entered the neighborhood on foot, but he did not release details about how he may have gotten through the gate. Hampton did not rule out the possibility of another suspect and said detectives are continuing to investigate encounters Brown may have had with others in the area.
“We have who we were looking for right now,” Hampton said.
Meanwhile, Dickens pledged that Atlanta police will continue to find those responsible for the violence. He offered a stern warning to any would-be criminals.
“Let me very clear to those who would want to do harm in our community, who would want to perpetrate these crimes,” Dickens said. “If you pull a gun or pull out a knife in our city to hurt, harm, or kill someone, you will be arrested and sent to jail. We will use all of the tools of the APD and our friends and our partners, every resource we have, to bring to justice criminals who act in this violent way.”
Funeral arrangements were pending for Bowles. A GoFundMe launched in her memory will benefit the Atlanta Humane Society.
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