Joshua Michael FowlerDeputies in Walker County, Ga., are investigating the death of a 75-year-old Chickamauga woman who was discovered about 6:45 p.m. Saturday at her home at 77 Mimosa Drive.
Joyce Ann Fowler, 75, was discovered dead in the master bedroom by deputies who were performing a welfare check, according to a news release. WRCB reported that neighbors would often check on Fowler because she had medical problems. When she didn't answer the door, they called 911.
Evidence at the scene indicated that she died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to police.
Witnesses report that they saw Fowler's grandson, Joshua Michael Fowler, 30, of LaFayette, Ga., leave her home early Saturday morning. According to Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, the time that he was reported to be at her home is related to her estimated time of death.
Joshua Fowler was arrested at his LaFayette home at 5:30 a.m. Sunday by sheriff's deputies, parole officers and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Joshua Fowler was arrested on a parole violation warrant and booked at the Walker County Detention Center. Although he is a suspect in his grandmother's death, Fowler had not been charged as of Sunday night, authorities said.
The GBI and Walker County crime scene specialists processed Joshua Fowler's 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe for more evidence Sunday afternoon.
The GBI crime lab will perform an autopsy on Joyce Ann Fowler this morning in Decatur, Ga.