Shortly after midnight Thursday, Willie Smith texted her daughter to wish her a happy 30th birthday. And Christina Virginia Smith quickly replied.
“I love you, mommy,” she wrote.
It would be the last conversation Willie Smith would have with her daughter. She tried calling her later that day and the following day. When Christina hadn’t been in touch with her family by Saturday, the Winder Police Department went by to check on her. Inside the Bush Chapel Drive home, officers found the bodies of Smith and her fiancé, Marcus Gardner, 29.
On Saturday afternoon, officers knocked on Willie Smith’s door, about eight miles away, to tell her the news.
“When they told me, I said, ‘What? I don’t think so,’” Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The family had moved from Connecticut to Barrow County years earlier for a quiet community, Smith said. Now, the GBI is assisting in the investigation to find the person responsible for killing the young couple.
“Preliminary crime scene examination indicated that both subjects had been shot,” the GBI said in an emailed statement. “Both victims were last seen or heard from approximately two days prior. It is further known that the vehicle belonging to one of the victims was missing from the residence.”
After graduating from Winder-Barrow High School in 2011, Christina Smith followed her mother’s advice and focused on her education. She earned an associate’s degree and was completing a degree in medical billing with plans to work in the health care field. In the meantime, Christina worked at a local hotel.
About three years ago, Christina had met Gardner and the two were engaged. They planned to buy a house next month and had a vacation planned later in the year.
“I was so excited for her,” Willie Smith said. “He loved her very much.”
On Tuesday, Gardner’s mother will arrive from Missouri. Funeral arrangements are pending, and Smith said she is trying to stay busy while dealing with her grief. The family is planning a candlelight vigil Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Winder at a downtown gazebo.
Smith is now working with investigators to locate a suspect. She believes she knows who is responsible for killing the couple, though the GBI has not publicly identified a suspect.
“It hurts to the point that I don’t know whether I’m coming or going,” Smith said. “They had a beautiful future and he took it all away. They didn’t deserve that. God’s going to make sure he gets what he deserves.”
Anyone with information regarding this investigation should contact Winder police at 770-867-2156 or the GBI Region 11 Field Office at 706-552-2309. Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
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