The Dalton Police Department has identified the people killed in shootings at two different Dalton residences which police believe are connected.
Investigators say that preliminary findings of the investigation indicated that Kevin Andrew Akins, 37, of Dalton shot and killed his wife, Rebeca Nicole Akins, 35, at her residence at an apartment at 1320 Murray Avenue sometime during the early morning hours of Wednesday. Investigators say that Akins then went to an apartment residence at 1805 Shadow Lane where he shot and killed his girlfriend, Cindel Mae Rhoden, 33, and then shot and killed himself.
Police were dispatched to the Murray Avenue apartment shortly before 6 p.m. on Friday, to check on Rebeca Akins after coworkers reported that she had not been seen or heard from in several days. After being unable to get anyone to come to the door, officers were let into the residence by apartment staff and discovered Ms. Akins' body with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives were immediately notified and an investigation started. Detectives were soon able to find surveillance video of Kevin Akins leaving the apartment at approximately 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
During the course of Friday evening, investigators were able to track Kevin Akins’ vehicle to the Shadow Lane apartments where it was located in a parking lot. While waiting for a search warrant for an apartment unit at the location in the early morning hours Saturday, police saw a man arrive at the scene and enter the apartment using a key. Police later learned that he was Cindel Rhoden’s father and had come to the scene to check on Cindel after she had not been heard from for a few days.
The man then came back outside and called 911 to report that he’d found his daughter and another man shot to death. Investigators secured the scene and found that Kevin Akins had apparently shot and killed Cindel Rhoden before killing himself.