The victim in a slaying in Bradley County early Sunday morning had been trying to aid his niece from an attack by her financee, the Sheriff's Office said.
Matthew Lewis Burridge-Wolfcale, 25, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Jesse Johnson.
The fiancee of Wolfcale said she was being assaulted by Wolfcale when her uncle tried to help her after she cried out.
She said the two men struggled over a gun and then she heard shots ring out.
The victim was found dead on a bathroom floor. He had been shot several times.
The Sheriff's Office found Wolfcale lying face down in the driveway at 3515 Bates Dr. after getting a call at 4:08 a.m. He told deputies, "I f---- up. I'm going to get so much time, but it was self-defense."
He said he did not know how many shots he had fired.
The fiancee said she and Wolfcale had been in a heated argument in the bedroom they share with their one-year-old child. She said Wolfcale assaulted her and was on top of her. She said Johnson pulled Wolfcale off her. She said Wolfcale pushed Johnson off him and onto the child's bed.