On Monday, the police released the identity of a woman from Woodstock who was fatally shot at a residence on Shadowbrook Drive last Saturday.
According to a report from the Rome Police Department, officers arrived at 3 Shadowbrook Drive on Saturday night shortly before 11 p.m. and witnessed 21-year-old Ellis Geoffery Marrs exiting the property.
Marrs told the officers that he had just shot someone, and they took him into custody before calling for reinforcements and entering the residence. While in the backyard, one of the responding officers observed a woman trying to administer life-saving measures to 51-year-old Iris Dail Edwards, who was lying on the patio.
After EMTs arrived and attempted to resuscitate her, Iris Dail Edwards was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. In the meantime, a responding officer discovered a firearm atop a grill with the magazine ejected.
After clearing a round from the weapon, the officer placed it in the trunk of their patrol vehicle. Detectives then took charge of the investigation.
According to a statement from Lt. John S. Walters Sr. of the Criminal Investigations Unit, at 10:52 p.m. on March 4, authorities received a report of shots being fired outside a residence on Shadowbrook Drive in the Woodfin neighborhood near Chulio Road.
Investigators determined that a domestic altercation had taken place between a male and Edwards, which escalated to involve other members of the household and resulted in Edwards being shot once in the chest.
Edwards was pronounced dead by the Floyd County coroner’s office at the scene, and her remains were transported to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy. On Sunday, Ellis Geoffery Marrs was arrested and charged with murder.
He remains in custody at Floyd County Jail without bond, and further charges may be forthcoming as the investigation progresses. This incident marks the second fatal shooting to take place in Rome in the last four weeks, following the death of Samuel Franklin Jr. on Feb. 4 outside a Park Homes apartment on Reservoir Street off Turner McCall Boulevard.
Franklin was discovered with a gunshot wound outside the building and was pronounced dead at Atrium Health Floyd. That case is still under investigation.
Anyone with information regarding either incident is encouraged to contact the RPD Criminal Investigation Division or Investigator Kyle York at 706-238-5127 or [email protected].
