A woman was found lifeless inside a closet at her Atlanta apartment Friday afternoon, police said. Now her death is being investigated as a homicide.
Shortly before 5 p.m., officers were called to the Fairburn Gordon Apartments at 195 Fairburn Road after Melinda Stevens was found dead by family members, according to an incident report obtained Tuesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 44-year-old had blunt force trauma to the head and neck, police confirmed.
Investigators believe a dispute inside the apartment led to the killing. No details were released about a suspect.
The complex, which is split into Fairburn Gordon I and II, was among 275 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous complexes, according to the AJC’s “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods.
From 2017 to 2021, police reported 71 crimes at 195 Fairburn, including 28 aggravated assaults, nine robberies and two rapes. At 213 Fairburn, police reported 26 crimes, including eight aggravated assaults and seven robberies.
In June 2021, police said a man was killed and others were injured in a drive-by shooting at the complex. In February 2022, a man was shot during a home invasion there, according to authorities.
Friday’s killing was not the first along Fairburn Road in the past week.
Nearly two miles away, a woman was shot to death at the City Park Atlanta apartments April 11, police said. Investigators said they believe a fight began inside an apartment. No details were provided about a suspect.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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