A Georgia woman lied when she told police her 8-year-old daughter was killed by a bullet from a gun that accidentally discharged after it fell off a table, authorities said Tuesday.
Paulding County sheriff's deputies responded to a call reporting an accidental shooting on Oct. 17 and found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg and a girl who had been shot in the head.
The woman, 45-year-old Marsha Lynch, told deputies a semi-automatic handgun had fallen from a table and discharged when it hit the ground, sheriff's Sgt. Ashley Henson said in an emailed statement. Lynch said the bullet hit her in the leg and then hit her daughter, Sharia, in the head, Henson said.
As Sharia Lynch was being taken to a life flight helicopter, her condition worsened and the ambulance was rerouted to Wellstar Paulding Hospital. Sharia Lynch died on the way to the hospital.
Forensic pathologists with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab said the autopsy showed the bullet hit Sharia Lynch's head first and then hit Marsha Lynch's leg, Henson said. That means the story about the gun falling off the table is not true, Henson said.
He said authorities still believe the shooting was accidental, but they believe Marsha Lynch's son, 23-year-old Quincy Lynch, was holding the gun when it fired.
Jail records show Marsha Lynch was arrested Jan. 5, and Quincy Lynch was arrested Jan. 12. Marsha Lynch is charged with obstruction of law enforcement, and Quincy Lynch faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, Henson said.
Henson said both of them have bonded out of the Paulding County jail. Phone numbers could not immediately be found for them, and it wasn't clear if either had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
Henson said the reason it took several months to determine what happened is because detectives asked that GBI firearms examiners analyze the gun. That analysis determined the gun was working properly and could not have accidentally discharged.