Teens arrested after grandmother found dead in trunk
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Community members continue their outpouring of love and support to remember a murdered grandmother who was brutally murdered days before Christmas.
Fulton County Police tell FOX 5 that 18-year-olds De'asia Ra'meke Page and Jared Kemp are charged with murder in the death of Toni Abad. They are being held at the Fulton County Jail, and waived their first appearance in court Tuesday morning.
Police say Page turned herself in to Union City Police Sunday morning. They say Kemp was arrested Monday morning.
According to investigators, Abad's body was found in the trunk of her own car parked behind the Waffle House at the intersection of Thompson Road and Highway 92.
Police tell FOX 5 someone spotted the suspicious car Friday.
When police arrived, they say they noticed the driver's side window was broken before they discovered Abad's body in the trunk.
Investigators believe Page was homeless.
Abad was a well-known and beloved employee at the Publix grocery located close to the intersection. Coworkers created a memorial for the employee beside the deli area where she worked daily, and also created a memorial outside the shopping center where police found the grandmother's body.
Coworkers tell FOX 5, Page had been seen asking people for rides Thursday night.
"She asked me for a ride, I told her no...[Toni] wanted to do something to help them," a tearful Sandra Scott tells FOX 5, saying she was afraid to give a stranger a lift.
While officers have not released a motive for the crime, her family tells FOX 5, they believe Abad was killed while trying to do a good deed.
"She would have given anything they asked for. They didn't give her that chance," said her sister, Deborah Ritchie, to FOX 5 Tuesday night.
The family of one of Abad's children released the following statement to FOX 5 News:
Friends of Abad spoke to FOX 5, explaining they believed she showed kindness to strangers, even up to her death.
"How funny she was, how giving she was... Just knowing the senseless way she died and for no reason, and the brutal way they did [it ],"close friend Jolynn Griffin said, who was expecting Abad to stop by her Powder Springs home, before learning she was killed.
"She never met a stranger. She talked to everyone... They took advantage of her kindness," said childhood friend Joe Bourassa, who tells FOX 5 that plenty of people in the Powder Springs area who knew and grew up with the local resident are shaken by the tragedy.
Customers of the Publix tell FOX 5, employees created a memorial inside the store dedicated to the beloved bakery and deli employee. People tell FOX 5 the woman was known for being kind to strangers, and enjoyed conversing with customers.
Police have not released a cause of death.
The two suspects have a scheduled court appearance January 9.