GBI identifies woman, baby found slain across street from dead man in Dooly County

A woman and infant had been shot to death and a teenage girl was seriously wounded when Dooly County sheriff's deputies wheeled in the driveway of a mobile home in Byromville before dawn Thursday.

Priscilla Adams, 37, was pronounced dead in an ambulance after the 4:15 a.m. shooting.

The baby, a 17-month old boy who belonged to a woman Adams' son is dating, also was dead, GBI Special Agent J.T. Ricketson said.

Adams' 17-year-old daughter was wounded and made it back inside the mobile home. She was in serious condition and required emergency surgery at the Medical Center, Navicent Health, in Macon.

Behind a house across Hill Street from the mobile home, K9 trackers discovered the body of 60-year-old Willie James Merrell.

Investigators for the GBI and the sheriff's office were still piecing together evidence late Thursday. Crime scene technicians set up shot trajectory equipment at both houses to determine where the shooter might have been standing.

Asked if the crime scene looked to be a murder-suicide, Ricketson said it was too early to tell.

"I can't call it that," Ricketson said. "What I'm calling it on one side of the street ... is a homicide and an aggravated assault. ... Across the street is a death investigation, because we have not determined the manner or cause of death for Merrell."

Residents of Hill Street told investigators they were not aware of any disputes between Merrell and Adams.

Cellphones found at the mobile home will be analyzed for evidence.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 5:58 PM.