GBI: Union County Murder Suspect Killed Parents

The parents of a Union County double homicide suspect fatally shot by Cherokee Sheriff's Office deputies were killed by their own son. 

That's according to preliminary autopsy results released Friday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Complete autopsy results are pending at the GBI's Medical Examiner's Office. 

The GBI's regional office in Cleveland around 5:45 p.m. Thursday received a call for assistance from Union County Sheriff Mack Mason after his deputies discovered the bodies of Charles Payne, age 59, and Louise Payne, age 67, at a home at 1098 Nottley Dam Road in Blairsville.

GBI authorities discovered the Payne's 2005 Ford F-150 pick-up truck was missing from the home and they later determined by an investigation that the couple's son, Anthony Payne, 34, was a suspect in the couple's death.

Authorities received information that Payne may have been located at a residence 790 Swan Lake near Holly Springs, so the GBI notified the Cherokee Sheriff's Office to be on the look out for Payne, who they classified as "armed and extremely dangerous." 

Cherokee deputies later located Payne and shot and killed the suspect in a confrontation early Friday morning.

Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison has asked the GBI to investigate the deputy-involved shooting, which his currently ongoing from the GBI's regional office in Conyers.

The GBI and the Union County Sheriff's Office are also continuing the investigation into the double homicide. 

Don't miss any news from Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch! Subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Also, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!