Tyrone police: 3 deaths in Tyrone, 1 a likely homicide

Tyrone police are investigating two separate incidents in which dead bodies were found in public places this week.

The city’s police department issued a statement regarding a Dec. 19 incident during which officers responded to the 500 block of McDade Street shortly before 9 p.m. in reference to a welfare check.

At that location, a woman told officers that the father of her infant child had held the two of them hostage overnight after killing his mother the previous day. She said that after releasing them, he left the area in a vehicle with the deceased.

A short time after receiving that information, the suspect’s vehicle was found on fire in Fayetteville. The suspect was dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the body of his deceased mother was also in the car.

The woman was identified as Sonya Reid, 59, of Tyrone. Police said the dead suspect is believed to be her son, Khalid Auta, 32, of Tyrone.

Detectives processed the deceased’s home for anything that might prove valuable as evidence, and the investigation is ongoing.

In an unrelated incident, the body of a dead adult female was discovered the morning of Dec. 18 in the vicinity of the former Tyrone Elementary School. The deceased has been identified as Leian Somera, 46, who was reported missing Dec. 5 by her roommates.

The coroner was notified and the body was transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for an autopsy. Police said there is no indication of foul play at this time but the investigation is ongoing.

Elsewhere in Tyrone, a man who escalated an argument with representatives of a local auto repair business found himself in jail over the weekend.

A police department spokesman said officers were called Dec. 15 to Sharpsburg Muffler on Shamrock Industrial Boulevard after the suspect and his girlfriend had stopped by to dispute some charges and other issues of a civil nature.

The suspect, who was on probation, proceeded to get excessively worked up by the ensuing argument to the point that he was heard by several witnesses threatening to do damage to the business and harm employees. He also shoved his girlfriend when she tried to calm him down.

Xavier Johnson, 51, of Fairburn faces a felony charge of terroristic threats and acts along with additional charges of simple battery/family violence and violating a family violence order, according to the Fayette County Jail log.

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Below is the Tyrone Police department news release Wednesday morning:

On December 19, 2023 at approximately 8:56 p.m., officers from the Tyrone Police Department responded to the 500 block of McDade Street in reference to a welfare check.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with a female who stated that the father of her infant child had killed his mother the previous day, held the caller and child hostage overnight, and had just released them and left the area in a vehicle with the deceased.

A short time later, the suspect’s vehicle was discovered in Fayetteville, GA on fire. The suspect was dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The body of his deceased mother was also in the car.

The deceased has been identified as Sonya Reid, a 59-year-old resident of Tyrone, GA, and the suspect is believed to be her son, Khalid Auta, a 32-year-old resident of Tyrone, GA.

Detectives from our agency processed the deceased’s home for anything of evidentiary value. This is an ongoing investigation and no further information is available at this time, Tyrone Police said.