Christopher and Erin Edwards were remembered for their kindness, ambition and community ties after three members of their family died.
VININGS, GA — Friends, classmates and community leaders mourned 24-year-old Christopher Edwards II and his 20-year-old sister, Erin Edwards, after police said their mother killed the siblings and then herself inside a Cobb County townhouse in August 2019.
Cobb County police identified 58-year-old Dr. Marsha Edwards as the suspect in the deaths. Officers found all three family members dead inside a home in the Parc East Townhome Community on Nobility Way on Aug. 21 after responding to a request for a welfare check. Investigators said Christopher and Erin had been shot and that their mother died by suicide. Authorities did not publicly identify a motive in the immediate aftermath.
The deaths stunned people across Atlanta and beyond because the siblings had already built strong ties to schools, government offices and professional communities. Christopher worked for the city of Atlanta as a digital content manager in its film and entertainment office. Erin was preparing to begin her junior year at Boston University, where she studied journalism and was active in campus organizations. She had also previously interned with the Atlanta mayor’s communications office. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”7″}
Both siblings were graduates of Woodward Academy. School leaders described them as talented students with promising futures. Marcia Prewitt Spiller, an administrator at the school, remembered the brother and sister as exceptional young people who had much more to contribute. Friends offered similar accounts, describing Christopher as generous and good-humored and Erin as caring, ambitious and deeply interested in the lives of people around her. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”8″}
Christopher had graduated from Elon University before returning to Atlanta and joining the city’s government. His work placed him in the city’s growing film and entertainment sector. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who knew the Edwards family, remembered him as cheerful, helpful and gentlemanly. The mayor also praised Erin as poised, confident and eager to contribute to her community. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”9″}
Erin’s death was also felt hundreds of miles away at Boston University. She was a Posse scholar in the College of Communication and had interests in journalism, film, television and African American studies. Faculty members and fellow students remembered her energy, empathy and writing ability. University officials said she had been preparing to help welcome incoming students when news of her death reached the campus. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”10″}
More than 200 students, faculty members, relatives and friends later gathered at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel for an October memorial honoring Erin. Speakers remembered her as a caring friend and talented student whose ambitions extended well beyond the classroom. Her brother was also remembered during the service as loved ones continued to grieve the deaths of both siblings. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”11″}
In Atlanta, hundreds gathered Aug. 28 at Cascade United Methodist Church for a celebration of life for Christopher, Erin and their mother. Family members and friends spoke about the close relationships they had known within the Edwards family, even as they struggled to understand the violence that had taken three lives. The Rev. Walter Kimbrough told mourners that they did not have an answer to the question of why the deaths occurred. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”12″}
The siblings’ father, Dr. Christopher Edwards, a prominent Atlanta orthopedic surgeon and civic leader, did not speak publicly in the immediate aftermath. A family spokesman said at the time that Edwards, his relatives and friends were in a state of grief and shock and asked that their privacy be respected while arrangements were made. The deaths prompted condolences from local officials, educators, classmates and others who had worked with Christopher and Erin. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”13″}
The family also established memorial efforts in the siblings’ names, including a scholarship connected to Christopher’s alma mater and support for the Posse Foundation in Erin’s memory. Those tributes reflected how the two were remembered separately from the circumstances of their deaths: as young adults whose education, careers and community involvement had already touched people in Atlanta and on their college campuses. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”14″}
Police had not publicly identified a motive in the period following the deaths. Later reporting on medical examiner findings confirmed the killings as a murder-suicide but did not resolve the question that followed the family through its memorial services: what led to the violence. For the communities that knew Christopher and Erin, public remembrances instead centered on their work, friendships and plans for the future. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”15″}
Author note: Last updated November 5, 2026.