strongernow
04-25-2004, 09:50 PM
Laurens County murder suspect found dead
By Sharon E. Crawford
Telegraph Staff Writer
CEDAR GROVE - A Laurens County man who investigators say killed his wife earlier this week was found dead inside the couple's mobile home Saturday.
Members of the Georgia State Patrol's SWAT team found Stephen Michael McClain, 45, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Laurens County Sheriff Kenny Webb said.
The sheriff said evidence found inside the couple's home on Friday showed McClain shot his wife, Laura McClain, and their two dogs.
"We received information (Saturday) morning from a neighbor that the car we were searching for was at the house," Webb said. "When a deputy arrived, he thought he heard a door slam. ... We now think that could have been a gunshot."
Law enforcement officials closed both sides of Sudie Pearl Jones Road for most of the day Saturday while they waited to go inside McClain's home. Donna Baker, who lives a few houses away from the McClains, was surprised when she tried to go into town Saturday and couldn't.
"It's wild," Baker said. "I never could have imagined anything like this happening in our neighborhood. We live in a quiet place where children walk down the streets and ride four-wheelers and you know who your neighbors are ... nothing like this."
Baker said she didn't really know the McClains, who had moved into the neighborhood in 2002.
Webb said the couple had previous domestic problems and that Laura McClain had talked about leaving her husband. Laura McClain had recently bailed her husband out of the Laurens County Jail, where he faced charges of child molestation and incest.
"We've received information that he had told her if she ever tried to leave him, he would kill her," Webb said. "We're still trying to put all of this together."
Sheriff's deputies found Laura McClain's body inside her home in south Laurens County on Thursday afternoon when she failed to show up for work at the Huddle House in McRae.
Members of the Laurens County Sheriff's Office, the GSP, the GBI and the Georgia Department of Corrections are working on the case.
By Sharon E. Crawford
Telegraph Staff Writer
CEDAR GROVE - A Laurens County man who investigators say killed his wife earlier this week was found dead inside the couple's mobile home Saturday.
Members of the Georgia State Patrol's SWAT team found Stephen Michael McClain, 45, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Laurens County Sheriff Kenny Webb said.
The sheriff said evidence found inside the couple's home on Friday showed McClain shot his wife, Laura McClain, and their two dogs.
"We received information (Saturday) morning from a neighbor that the car we were searching for was at the house," Webb said. "When a deputy arrived, he thought he heard a door slam. ... We now think that could have been a gunshot."
Law enforcement officials closed both sides of Sudie Pearl Jones Road for most of the day Saturday while they waited to go inside McClain's home. Donna Baker, who lives a few houses away from the McClains, was surprised when she tried to go into town Saturday and couldn't.
"It's wild," Baker said. "I never could have imagined anything like this happening in our neighborhood. We live in a quiet place where children walk down the streets and ride four-wheelers and you know who your neighbors are ... nothing like this."
Baker said she didn't really know the McClains, who had moved into the neighborhood in 2002.
Webb said the couple had previous domestic problems and that Laura McClain had talked about leaving her husband. Laura McClain had recently bailed her husband out of the Laurens County Jail, where he faced charges of child molestation and incest.
"We've received information that he had told her if she ever tried to leave him, he would kill her," Webb said. "We're still trying to put all of this together."
Sheriff's deputies found Laura McClain's body inside her home in south Laurens County on Thursday afternoon when she failed to show up for work at the Huddle House in McRae.
Members of the Laurens County Sheriff's Office, the GSP, the GBI and the Georgia Department of Corrections are working on the case.