FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Eric Sumner, accused of killing off-duty Gwinnett County Deputy Tamara Tuitt-Bartlett, will remain in jail after appearing confused during his bond hearing in Forsyth County Tuesday.
Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson was live at the Forsyth County Jail for Channel 2 Action News at 6:00.
Sumner faces charges of murder and attempted murder for the shooting that killed Tuitt-Bartlett and injured her teenage son at their home on McGinnis Ferry Road.
Tuesday, Johnson learned more about the troubling warning signs before her tragic death.
For nearly 20 years, Tuitt-Bartlett dedicated her life to protecting others.
Now her colleagues are mourning a tragedy that court records show she tried to prevent.
When a Forsyth County judge read the charges against Sumner, the 43-year-old tried to speak about injuries and confusion before his attorney stopped him.
“I got all these scratches on me and stuff,” he said.
“Mr. Sumner, stop talking,” his attorney said.
Sumner faces murder and attempted murder charges in the Saturday night shooting that killed Tuitt-Bartlett at her home off McGinnis Ferry Road.
Deputies say Sumner also shot her teenage son multiple times before the boy escaped to a neighbor’s door near Suwanee.
“We could never even sense anything unusual or anything like that,” said Sahreen Bhanji, a neighbor.
But court records reveal warning signs months earlier.
Tuitt-Bartlett filed for a protective order in April describing their three-year, on-and-off relationship.
She wrote that Sumner had become increasingly insecure and started arguments out of nowhere.
Tuitt-Bartlett wrote that her 15-year-old son has autism and the fear from witnessing the arguments affected him even more.
The protective order was dismissed in May after records show Tuitt-Bartlett asked the judge to drop it. Four months later, she was tragically killed.
“It’s really heartbreaking. She was a wonderful woman,” Bhanji said.
Sumner is also a convicted felon. He will remain here in the Forsyth County Jail until his next court date.
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- Family of off-duty Gwinnett County deputy killed in shooting has dealt with tragedy before
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