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Atlanta police have arrested a burglar suspected of stabbing a grandmother to death at her home in the city’s wealthier suburbs.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced that 23-year-old Antonio Brown has been detained for questioning in the murder of 77-year-old Ellen Bowles.
Her own son found her stabbed to death in the garage of her nearly $800,000 home on Saturday.
Police circulated a photo over the weekend of a man believed to be dark-haired getting into Bowles’ Lexus SUV. Police said the grandmother may have surprised Brown when she was trying to steal the car.
Bowles, 77, was found stabbed to death in her garage on Saturday by her own son.
Police released this photo of a man believed to be Antonio Brown as he enters Bowles’ Lexus.
Bowles lived in a gated community in the suburban Buckhead district, which has considered seceding from Atlanta and forming its own government due to the city’s rampant crime.
Police said Brown was arrested after a local approached them with information.
They said Bowles’ car had been driven to various locations after the murder and was located in DeKalb County, which borders Buckhead.
Deputy Police Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said Brown was believed to have entered the Bowles neighborhood on foot, but would not say how he got past the gate.
Hampton said it was possible an accomplice helped Brown and said authorities are continuing to investigate.
Ellen Bowles pictured with her son Michael Bowles, who discovered her dead in her garage on Saturday.
Bowles’ Buckhead home, worth nearly $800,000, where she was stabbed to death on Saturday
Michael Bowles discovered his mother dead in her garage on Saturday when he came home to visit her for the holidays.
Police said the murder likely occurred sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that day.
Police said Bowles had been stabbed multiple times and appeared to have been making Christmas preparations when she interrupted Brown.
“We have who we were looking for right now,” Hampton said in his announcement of Brown’s arrest.
Ellen dances with her son Michael. She was described as “kind, precious, fun and loving” on a GoFundMe page set up in her honor.
A photo of the man believed to be Antonio Brown cops is released. brown has been arrested
Bowles was the mother of two children and was characterized as “kind, beautiful, funny, loving” in a GoFundMe page created in his honor.
Described as a fierce lover of animals, all proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to the Humane Society of Atlanta.
Her son Michael said in a statement that he was dedicating himself to making sure his mother’s death spurned action against violent crimes.
‘I am committed to spreading the word about this shocking tragedy. And I want everyone to understand that none of us is safe,’ he said. “I hope people read this story and understand it, and then maybe we can all effect some change collectively. I will carry that message with me forever, for mom.’
Buckhead residents first voiced the notion of seceding from the rest of Atlanta in 2008, after a newsletter was distributed proposing the measure could cut residents’ taxes by 50 percent.
The motion largely failed, but it was revived again in 2021 as a means to curb growing violent crime in the area.
“We live in a war zone in Buckhead,” session attorney and Buckhead resident Bill White told Bloomberg at the time. ‘Shootings and murders, it just never ends.’
As recently as this past May, a non-binding advisory question was placed on the state’s gubernatorial primary ballot asking Georgians across the state whether or not they wanted Buckhead to be separated from Atlanta.
It is unclear what the results of that survey were.