The pictures told the story of Lena Nicole Marshall’s life: Smiling with her children and her friends. Next to a beloved four-legged friend. Wearing her police uniform.
Those who knew her best said behind the smile was a tough woman who had learned to push through countless adversities. On Monday, Marshall was remembered as a hero. The Jackson County deputy died Nov. 8 after being shot while responding to a domestic call.
“She loved her job,” Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said. “She gave it all she had all the time. She didn’t back down from anything. She loved her shifts. She loved all of her brothers and sisters in blue.”
Law enforcement agencies from around the state gathered to escort the casket carrying the slain deputy from the sheriff’s office to Free Chapel Church in Braselton. Horses pulled the casket to the front of the church as officers lined the sidewalk.
It was the second time in as many days that family and friends gathered to say goodbye to a Georgia officer killed in the line of duty. On Sunday, a funeral was held for Henry County police Officer Paramhans Desai. Marshall and Desai were shot a day apart while responding to unrelated domestic calls but died within hours of each other.
Marshall, 49, was critically injured Nov. 5 during a violent shootout, according to investigators. She was doing what she loved, Mangum said: Serving the people of Jackson County.
The GBI and Jackson sheriff’s office said Jessica Worsham, 43, of Hoschton, fired at Marshall and another deputy when they confronted her at a home, striking Marshall. The other deputy returned fire, hitting and killing Worsham, the sheriff’s office said.
Beyond her uniform, Marshall was remembered for her free-spirited realness, her cowboy boots, and love for whiskey and cigarettes, her friends said.
During Monday’s funeral, Lauren Stephens called Marshall her soulmate.
“I’ll be grateful for her friendship for the rest of my life,” Stephens said.
The two had texted moments before Marshall was shot.
Daniel Varnado
Daniel Varnado
“I love you, be safe,” Stephens wrote.
“Love you too. Always,” Marshall replied.
Marshall had served as a Jackson County deputy since June 2020. She had previously worked for the Winder and Helen police departments and Barrow and Habersham sheriff’s departments.
Marshall is survived by three children and was preceded in death by a fourth. She is also survived by two brothers and two sisters, according to her online obituary.
Marshall is the first Jackson County deputy killed in 27 years and the third killed in the line of duty, according to the Officers Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths. The last time a Jackson deputy was killed on the job was Nov. 4, 1994, when Edward Monroe Evans was struck by a vehicle. In 1919, Sheriff Clifford David Barber was shot to death.
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