Authorities: Man kills wife, 2 children in murder-suicide

SUWANEE, Ga. — A Georgia man who was having relationship troubles with his wife killed her, two of her sons and himself Wednesday, just hours after police had visited the home on a domestic violence call, authorities said.

Matthew Fields, 32, wasn’t there when deputies arrived Tuesday night and there was no sign of any physical altercation, Maj. Rick Doyle of the Forsyth County sheriff’s office said. Those at the home were uncooperative, leaving deputies with nothing to pursue.

Fields returned to the home Wednesday morning and fatally shot his wife, Rebecca Manning, and her 8- and 9-year-old boys, Jared and Jacob Smith. He also critically wounded Manning’s father, who lived with the family at the home in suburban Atlanta.

The house is a white, single-story, double-wide that contrasts with the nearby area, which includes some of metro Atlanta’s most exclusive neighborhoods and golf communities.

Before Fields killed himself, he called his mother acknowledging what he had done and said he was going to take his own life, according to 911 dispatcher documents distributed by the sheriff’s office.

A relative in another county had called 911 about 6 a.m. Wednesday and said his wife was on the phone with her son and her son said he had shot four people and was going to kill himself, according to the documents.

The caller said he and his wife were headed to the home and were 30 minutes away. The dispatcher said the caller advised of his wife: “She will be the only one that can talk to him.”

The identifying information in the documents was redacted.

The children were shot to death in their beds, authorities said. It’s not clear where inside the home the others were shot.

The home is on Old Atlanta Road about 30 miles northeast of the city. The road winds past golf course communities in a heavily wooded area.

The house is a few yards from the entrance to the Olde Atlanta Club, a golf course community along the Chattahoochee River.