Homeowner Heard Gunshot Before Finding Body of Man Accused of Killing Wife

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A homeowner near Sandtown Park in Fulton County said he heard a gunshot hours before he found the body of a Hiram man who police say killed his wife before shooting himself in the head Wednesday.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office released more details Thursday morning on the incident that began at a home near Hiram High School around 1:30 p.m. and ended in a wooded area near the park around 7:45 p.m., when Rockwell Thelmon Sarrabo, 41, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head.

Police believe he killed his wife, Nicole Thomas, 44, in their home on Baywood Way in Hiram. The home is located in a neighborhood behind Hiram High School, which was locked down while police investigated.

Related

• Update: Hiram Man Accused of Killing Wife Found Dead
• Shooting in Nearby Neighborhood Prompted Hiram High Lockdown

Sheriff’s office spokesman Cpl. Ashley Henson said the homeowner, who lives on Enon Road in Fulton County, heard a gunshot around 2 p.m. Wednesday, but didn’t think much of it because it was common to hear in the wooded area near his home.

“Later that day, once his wife had seen news coverage by the Atlanta area media, she told him that she was concerned that the gunshot could have come from Sarrabo,” Henson said in a news update. “The homeowner then began walking in the wooded area behind his residence and ultimately located a black male who was deceased as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

“Once Paulding County Deputies and Fulton County Officers arrived at the location of the body, they confirmed that it was in fact Sarrabo.”

Autopsies are planned for both of the deceased.

The incident began when Paulding County 911 received a call at 1:37 p.m. from a woman who said Sarrabo, who was her ex-boyfriend, called her to say he had killed his wife at their Baywood Way residence and was going to Sandtown Park to commit suicide.

“When Deputies arrived at the residence on Baywood Way they made entry into the home through an unlocked door. When they entered the residence, they found the victim [Thomas] deceased as a result of a gunshot wound to the head,” Henson said in the update.

Police found Sarrabo’s white Cadillac Escalade at Sandtown Park, but did not located him. Officers from multiple agencies assisted in the search.

Fulton County Police processed the crime scene and the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office took Sarrabo’s body to its office for an autopsy. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will conduct an autopsy on Thomas.

Note: The suspect’s last name was spelled “Serrabo” in previous police news alerts.

(Photo: Rockwell Thelmon Sarrabo)