SUMMERVILLE, Ga. — A Christmas Eve homicide investigation ended with authorities shooting the man they believe was behind the murder, a Georgia sheriff's office said. The man died in the hospital.
A spokesperson with the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office said deputies were dispatched to Johnson Cemetery Road in the Chattoogaville area, where they found a woman's body just off the roadway. Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) special agents were called to help and authorities were able to identify the woman as 50-year-old Sherrie Leigh Little from Summerville.
Investigators, including those with the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force (LMDTF), the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office, Summerville Police Department, went to her home Sunday in search of evidence and determined Little was killed there. According to authorities, her body was dumped near Johnson Cemetery Road shortly after her death.
Law enforcement said by the end of the day, they had a suspect in mind and obtained an arrest warrant for murder for 44-year-old John Wayne Siffles. Investigators said they suspected he was hiding out at a home on Highland Avenue, just a few blocks away from the crime scene.
Investigators then obtained another warrant to search the home in a mission to arrest the murder suspect. A coalition of law enforcement agencies assisted in taking Siffles into custody, according to the sheriff's office.
Law enforcement tried to use pepper spray and even deployed Tasers in an effort to stun Siffles, but he refused to surrender, according to authorities. Siffles then took out a knife "with the intent to assault the officers," according to the sheriff's office, and that's when authorities shot him. In an update, the GBI said agents with the LMDTF shot Siffles several times.
Siffles was taken to the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, where he died, the sheriff's office said.
The GBI is now taking over the shooting investigation as is protocol when Georgia law enforcement officers fire their weapons to determine if use of force was appropriate.
Once the GBI's investigation is finished, it will be given to the Chattooga County District Attorney's Office for review.
