Marianne Shockley, professor at UGA, found dead; Marcus Lillard accused and another man dies by suicide

A professor from the University of Georgia was found dead in front of a whirlpool, his boyfriend was arrested and another man apparently committed suicide in what the county sheriff described as "l & # 39; 39, one of the strangest cases we have ever worked. "

Sydney Clark Heindel, 69, called 911 about 1 am Sunday to announce that a woman had been under water in the hot tub of her home in Milledgeville for a minute or two and was not responding anymore , according to an incident report from the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office. When the deputies arrived, they found Marianne Clopton Shockley naked and not responding on the edge of the pool, bleeding heavily from a head injury. Heindel and "another naked male subject," identified as 41-year-old Marcus Allen Lillard, performed a CPR on Shockley.

An autopsy showed that Shockley, 43, was strangled, reports WMAZ-TV, a subsidiary of CBS. Police told CBS affiliate, WGCL-TV, that Lillard knew Shockley only a few months ago, but that they were dating.

Shockley had no pulse and the emergency medical staff declared her dead soon after her arrival, according to the incident report.

Shockley was a professor of entomology at the University of Georgia.

"On behalf of the university, I would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family, students and colleagues of Dr. Marianne Shockley," University spokesperson Greg Trevor said in a statement. email.

Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said the evidence on the ground suggested that alcohol was a factor in the murder, reports CBS affiliate WMAZ-TV. He is still waiting for the toxicology reports to come back to see if the drugs have also played a role.

Lillard stated that he was in the woods for about 15 minutes to search for firewood and that on his return, he noticed that Shockley "had fainted" in the hot tub, indicates the report. The MP noted in his report that there was already a big pile of firewood near the fireplace by the pool and that it seemed strange to gather more, because it was raining much earlier in the day.

As Shockley did not answer, Lillard took her in the hot tub, jumped into the pool, swam on the other side and placed her on the edge of the pool, Lillard told the deputy ministers. Lillard stated that he had fallen while he was wearing Shockley and that it was so that his head was injured.

Heindel stated that he was at the other end of the swimming pool while Shockley was in the hot tub and that when Lillard came back from the woods and found Shockley unresponsive, they l & # 39; 39 have withdrawn and started CPR, the report says. Shockley seemed to breathe weakly, said Heindel, so they assumed that she was regaining consciousness and did not call 911 until about 45 minutes later.

MPs called an inspector and separated Lillard and Heindel, Lillard from the back of a patrol car and Heindel under his porch.

MPs found a pair of glasses on the edge of the pool, with what appeared to be blood next to them, on the concrete. They also found two spots in the grass right next to the pool deck that appeared to be soaked with blood and found a nearby woman's bracelet in the grass.

When a member went to ask a question to Heindel, he noticed that he was no longer under the porch. When the member knocked on the door and called Heindel's name, he heard a "loud but muffled sound," the report said.

MPs entered the house and found Heindel dead in the main bathroom as a result of a gunshot wound that was inflicted on him, the report said.

"This is one of the weirdest cases we have ever worked … it was just a weird type of case," Massee said.

Lillard was taken to the sheriff's office for further investigation. The sheriff's office and the Georgia investigation office announced Monday afternoon that Lillard had been arrested for murder, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another.

Lillard was detained in Baldwin County Jail in Milledgeville, about 90 kilometers southeast of Atlanta. The Sheriff's Office spokesperson did not know if Lillard had a lawyer who could comment on the charges, and no online hearing record was available.