Dawn Castro
The Valdosta Daily Times
STATENVILLE —
Based on a preliminary autopsy report, the 28-year-old woman killed on Saturday in Echols County was shot to death, not stabbed as authorities initially reported.
Her 61-year-old boyfriend is charged in the case.
Late Wednesday, Echols County Coroner Allen Leonard reported that Martha Felton, 28, had been shot multiple times. Authorities originally believed she had been stabbed multiple times.
“We were all baffled when the results came in,” he said. “We all thought the victim was stabbed to death.”
Just before midnight Saturday, in the 1400 block of Bethel Church Road, the Echols County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Echols County Coroner Allen Leonard responded to the residence of Lynnwood Reginald Mathis.
Once inside the residence, officials found the nude body of Martha Felton wrapped in a blanket on the floor in the hallway, Sheriff Randy Courson said earlier this week.
“The woman appeared to have been stabbed,” Courson initially said. “A deputy noticed puncture wounds to her body.”
The coroner confirmed that the woman died from multiple stab wounds to the torso. The body was sent to the State Crime Lab in Macon for an autopsy.
Mathis is charged with murder.
Courson said Mathis walked into the sheriff’s office at approximately 11:15 p.m. and told the officers on duty that he needed to see the sheriff. Courson was not in the office at the time but said that, according to his deputies, Mathis kept repeating, “She’s dead.” Deputies drove the suspect to his residence and discovered Felton’s body.
“We got a search warrant,” Courson said, “and from the evidence collected at the scene, we were able to make the arrest.”
Courson also said Mathis and Felton were in a relationship, and the sheriff was familiar with them as they had previous domestic issues requiring the sheriff’s office’s involvement.
However, the sheriff was unaware of what events may have led to Saturday night’s incident.
