Sister of Gwinnett man found stabbed to death pleads for change

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A family is desperate for answers, trying to figure out what led up to the fatal stabbing of a husband and father in Gwinnett County on Monday.

Gwinnett County police said they were called to Preston Lake Drive in Norcross after reports of a domestic incident. When they arrived, they found 53-year-old Brett Zachary dead from a stab wound.

"There was nothing you could do to him that would make him not love you," Zachary's sister, Erin Zachary told FOX 5's Alex Whittler.

She said she was close to her brother, who was the oldest of three.

"He was the kind of person that if he makes you mad, seconds later he’d be trying to make you laugh to forgive him," she said.

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Roxanne Woodard-Zachary (Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office)

Investigators said Zachary's wife, 51-year-old Roxanne Woodard-Zachary, admitted to the crime and is now in custody, charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Originally Woodard-Zachary wasn't facing any charges.

Zachary said her brother, who spent much of his military career at Fort Benning in Georgia, had a tumultuous relationship with his wife.

Zachary’s sister said this is especially hard for his 8-year-old son.

"Jodi cried himself to sleep the past couple of days," his sister said.

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Investigators haven’t released a motive, and to add to the heartache, Zachary said it has taken days to get her sister-in-law to sign her brother’s body over to the family.

Under Georgia law, the legal next-of-kin is the authorized party to release remains for disposition.

Three days after Zachary's death, Woodard-Zachary granted the family access to her husband's body, which interferes with his Muslim beliefs.

"There has to be some provisional clause that if the spouse is charged in the murder of the victim, they should not have the right to determine what happens," she said.

Anyone with information about the stabbing is urged to call Gwinnett County Police Department.