LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — What started as a welfare check - then a medical emergency - eventually led to a homicide investigation, police say.
The Gwinnett Police Department was called to a home off Lexington Drive in unincorporated Lawrenceville at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in reference to a medical call.
According to the initial report, a woman arrived at the home to check on the well-being of her brother.
The sister entered the home and found her brother, 61-year-old Ray Neal, deceased in one of the bedrooms.
The sister said she last saw Neal the day prior, when she picked him up at a gas station. She told officers he was intoxicated at the time and had a medical history of high blood pressure, liver problems, and hepatitis C.
"As officers were inside the home, they noticed blood on the bed, on the walls of the bathroom, and upon the shower curtain," Gwinnett Police Cpl. Michele Pihera said. "It was not immediately clear if the blood was related to his medical condition or a crime."
Homicide investigators were made aware of the on-scene investigation.
The body was eventually released to a funeral home.
"While the funeral home employees were moving the body and preparing for transport, they noticed some suspicious injuries on his neck," Pihera said.
On Monday, the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on the body to determine the manner and cause of death. Based on the results, the case is now being investigated as a homicide.
The injuries are now believed to be stab wounds.
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