An Alabama woman strangled by her boyfriend is at the centre of a criminal investigation after the boyfriend died of a heart attack while attempting to dispose of her body, leaving both found dead side by side in woodland near Lanett. The case of the Alabama woman strangled by Daniel Robbins, 44, of Georgia came to light on 10 June when Chambers County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at 12:20 p.m. to reports of a vehicle parked in the road in the 1000 block of County Road 86, according to AL.com.
The victim, Jessica Folds, 47, was a mother of three who had been in a relationship with Robbins before her death sometime in early June. Officials say Robbins killed Folds and then attempted to move her body to a remote wooded location before suffering a fatal cardiac episode.
Bodies Found Together at Suspected Disposal Site
Upon arriving at the scene, deputies located a deceased woman and man in a wooded area close to the abandoned vehicle. The driver’s side door was open, the tailgate was down, and drag marks were visible in the dirt from the truck to where the bodies lay.
‘Their bodies were right there together,’ 5th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest told AL.com. Folds was found with her hands raised over her head. Robbins was found in a fetal position beside her.
Chambers County Sheriff Jeff Nelson said the location is believed to be a drop site rather than the place where Folds was killed. The person who reported the abandoned truck told authorities they had seen the two bodies in the woods but initially believed they were mannequins.
WKRG reported that investigators concluded Robbins died of a heart attack while in the process of discarding Folds’ body. His ex-wife told Georgia television station WTVM that Robbins had a preexisting heart condition.
Alabama Woman Strangled: Autopsies and the ALEA Investigation
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigation launched a death investigation into the two people found unresponsive on County Road 86, according to the Valley Times-News. Bodies were transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for autopsy.
Autopsy results confirmed that Folds died from strangulation and Robbins died of a heart attack. ALEA formally identified both individuals on the Friday following their Wednesday discovery, WTVM reported.
‘Based on the investigation, the female victim was strangled, and it appears the male was attempting to dispose of the body in a remote location,’ Segrest said. Investigators believe Robbins collapsed and died while in the act of moving Folds into the woods, as The Independent reported.
‘He died of a heart attack while doing it,’ Segrest told AL.com.
Folds reportedly lived just a few miles from the discovery site in Lanett. Robbins was based in Macon, Georgia. The pair had been in a relationship prior to their deaths.
An obituary for Folds describes her as someone who ‘lived and worked many places in the Auburn-Opelika area’ of Alabama. ‘Jessica touched the lives of many with her heart of gold, deep love for everyone, and smile that brightened the world,’ the obituary reads. An obituary for Robbins, which has since been taken down, described him as a father, a ‘country boy,’ a welder, and a farmer.
Officials have not released a motive for Folds’ killing. The investigation remains open under ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation, with no charges yet filed given Robbins’ death.
