Over the last two months, at least three north Georgia women have been found dead - under suspicious circumstances.
All were married with children. Two had been missing for several days, and in three cases the husband is either a suspect or was involved in the death.
James Lynn Jr., 39, was charged with murder Saturday a day after Winder police located the body of his wife, Tonya Faye Lynn, dumped in a well off Etheridge Road in Auburn, just a few miles from the Barrow County town. The 38-year-old mother of four had been missing since Wednesday.
Tonya Faye Lynn's family positively identified the body Saturday, and an autopsy was being conducted to determine the cause of death. Her husband had been held at the Barrow County Detention Center on an obstruction charge for allegedly giving detectives false information.
The Lynns, who were living apart, had a tumultuous marriage. A Barrow County judge issued a temporary protective order earlier this year, prohibiting Lynn from having any contact with his wife.
In another case two weeks earlier, Dominique Leili of Lawrenceville, who had not been seen for more than a week, was found dead in her Oak Village subdivision on July 16 shortly after family and friends gathered to search for her.
A co-worker discovered the decomposed body of the 44-year-old mother of three under a pile of leaves in the Gwinnett County neighborhood where Leili and her husband had lived nearly 12 years.
Matthew John Leili, 43, who filed for divorce five days after he last saw his wife, is considered a suspect in his wife’s death, according to Gwinnett police, but no charges have been filed. Through his attorney, Leili has denied involvement in his wife's death.
The medical examiner's office has declined to release the cause of Dominique Leili’s death.
The cause of Irene Mickens' death on July 12, however, was all-too apparent, according to Sandy Springs police. Jamal Mickens, 40, fatally shot his wife in the head before turning his gun on himself and taking his own life, police said.
Irene Mickens, a mother of two, had arrived at her estranged husband's Park Towers home on Hammond Drive to tend to her daughter after Jamal Mickens, a recent Emory University graduate, said the 5-year-old was seriously ill.
Their bodies were found by police called to scene by Irene Mickens' father, concerned for his daughter's safety. Officers found a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun nearby.
Irene Mickens, 40, had filed for divorce from her husband last November -- the second time she had done so in three years.
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