Double Murder, Suicide Discovered In LaFayette

  • Tuesday, April 30, 2002

LaFAYETTE, GA – LaFayette police found three people dead of gunshot wounds to the head here Tuesday morning in an apparent double murder and suicide.

Dead are Christopher Rice, 24; James Eric Simpson, 16, and Laura Helton, 17.

Investigators believe Rice first shot both Simpson and Helton and then shot himself with a handgun that was found in his hand.

The only survivor of the shooting was Helton's 7-month-old daughter, Jade, who was found in her crib in a backroom.

The gruesome crime occurred after Rice’s family called police when he did not show up for work Tuesday morning.

Investigators went to Rice's apartment and knocked on the door, but when no one answered, the LaFayette Housing Authority was called to open the door.

Detectives said they were aware that Rice and Simpson had problems.

According to LaFayette Police, Laura Helton was pregnant at the time of the shooting, and they believe Simpson fathered the unborn child. Rice is the father of Helton's daughter, Jade, who is with her paternal grandmother.

The bodies have been sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab in Summerville for autopsies.

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