A Cobb County woman is accused of strangling her 78-year-old mother with the belt from a robe, according to police.
The deadly assault happened shortly after 5 a.m. Friday at a home on Loch Highland Pass, near Roswell. According to investigators, Gretchen Lynn Fortney assaulted Martha Fortney in the home and strangled her.
“Said victim was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck and a ligature mark was visible,” the arrest warrant for Gretchen Fortney states.
Fortney, 52, also is accused of assaulting the woman with an unknown object to the torso and head, the warrant states. Martha Fortney died from her injuries, police said.
Address records show both women lived in the same home. No details about a possible motive were released.
Friday afternoon, Gretchen Fortney was arrested and charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault, jail records showed. She was booked into the Cobb jail, where she was being held Monday without bond.
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