Kids found mom dead in apartment, police say

Days after police arrested a man in connection with the death of his girlfriend, authorities said the woman's son and daughter were the ones who found her dead inside a Cherokee County apartment.

Neighbors at the Alta Ridgewalk Apartments in Woodstock told Channel 2 Action News they heard yelling and banging before the body of 32-year-old Christy Waller was found in one of the units about 4 p.m. Friday.

Autopsy results are pending, but preliminary findings indicate the young mother died of blunt force trauma, according to the news station.

Authorities arrested Waller's boyfriend, Michael Russell of Ringgold, when he returned to the apartment hours later, Channel 2 reported.

Detectives have not released a motive but suspect a long history of domestic violence, according to the station.

Neighbors told Channel 2 they called police repeatedly to report disturbances.

Russell is being held at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center on multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder, false imprisonment and two counts of aggravated assault, Woodstock police spokeswoman Brittany Duncan said.

Russell is expected to appear at a hearing Monday afternoon.

Waller's children, a preteen and a teen, are with relatives, Duncan said.

"I can't imagine what these kids are going through," neighbor Brian Ingram told Channel 2.

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