2 kids, 3 adults found dead in apparent murder-suicide at DeKalb County apartment

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Five people, including a 1-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, were found dead in an apartment on Vineyard Walk on Saturday evening.

It appears that all five victims were shot inside the Vineyards at Flat Shoals.

The preliminary investigation indicates this may have been a murder-suicide, but police have not yet pinpointed who pulled the trigger and why.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE VICTIMS

Chanel Carter, a family member, said she was the one who made the grisly discovery.

"I flashed my own light in the back window. That’s when I saw a body on the floor and a baby’s foot on the bed," Carter explained.

Carter identified the deceased as her 43-year-old mother Mollian Johnson, her 25-year-old sister Kaylyn, her 5-year-old niece Jedorah Powell and her 1-year-old nephew Jontavious Powell.

DeKalb County police confirmed the fifth person found dead was 42-year-old Jonathan Darden, Mollian Johnson's boyfriend.

"I’ll never be able to talk to her or laugh with her again," Carter said about her sister. "Or talk with my mom, or laugh with my mom again, or hug any of them."

Carter told FOX 5 Atlanta the last time she saw her mom was last week in the hospital.

She said she knew something was wrong when her mother never texted her back afterward.

"The next two days, she wasn't responding to me," she said.

Carter called the police for a wellness check and tagged along. That's when she saw the bodies.

"They were in the house five days dead," she said.

Family friend remembers five found dead

Passion Hall, a friend of the family, said she will always remember how they embraced her and her own children and made her feel at home.

"She was my friend, my aunt, my guardian angel on earth," said Hall. "Thanksgiving we sat down here, we had a good time. We were planning Christmas Monday. I helped them decorate, put up the tree, do the windows, all of that."

Hall said the two children, Johnson's grandchildren, were "truly gifts from God."

"It was my family," Hall told FOX 5 Atlanta. "It was my family from another, and it's sad."

Detectives are still investigating the case.

If you or a loved one is feeling distressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The crisis center provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to civilians and veterans. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (tel:18002738255). Or text HOME to 741-741 (Crisis Text Line).