SANDY SPRINGS, Ga -- Friends and family remember Amber Marie Holliman, 39, who was found dead inside her house on Hammond Drive after a fire Saturday morning.
A neighbor spotted the house fire and alerted the fire department, city spokesperson Sharon Kraun said.. Patrick Nolan, whose nickname is P.J., is the prime suspect in Holliman's death and the victim's longtime boyfriend.
Nolan's daughter told 11Alive's Christie Ethridge that she's devastated.
“Mostly I just want to say that I’m devastated about my step mom and for her daughter (Payton). They were a huge part of my life and I can’t believe this has happened," Sophia Nolan said.
Her dad is a suspect in Holliman's murder but she said that's out of character for him.
"I’ve never known my dad to do anything even close to this but if it was in fact him I want justice to be served for Amber. And if he’s listening I want him to know we love him and that he needs to turn himself in,” Sophia said..
Holliman was a bartender at The Rusty Nail where she would work Wednesdays and Thursdays according to David Boyt, a family friend.
"She was strong and independent," Boyt said. It’s “inconceivable” what happened because Boyt said he had been around P.J. and believed him to be a “nice guy”. "He must have snapped."
According to Boyt, Payton, Holliman's daughter, had just graduated from high school.
Sandy Springs Police charged Nolan with aggravated assault with intent to murder and arson in the first degree. Nolan is considered armed and dangerous and may have his dog with him, a 160 pound Presa Canario.
Nolan may be driving a blue 2006 Ford Explorer with the Georgia tag PYZ1420.
Contact Sandy Springs Police at 404-456-9343, if you have any information that could help law enforcement officers find him.
PHOTOS | Victim killed in Sandy Springs house fire
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