Just two days before being brutally killed in their Whitfield County, Georgia, home, victims Judy Potts and her daughter Krystal Spainhour called 911 to report a dispute between them and their suspected killer, 911 call records reveal.
The suspect, Michael Brandon Townsend, then called 911 two days later to turn himself in, saying he "lost his mind and choked 2 ladys [sic]," according to a written 911 dispatch report.
On Jan. 8, Spainhour, 44, said Townsend, who was living with the women, had been drinking and arguing with her mother.
In the nearly nine-minute 911 call released to the Times Free Press, Townsend can be heard screaming in the background when the 911 dispatcher tells Spainhour to "get away from him now" and repeatedly asks the women to go to a separate room and lock the door.
Potts, 72, then takes the phone and tells the dispatcher "He's [Townsend] coming to us like he's doing right now, hollering, screaming."
"I have hit him in his face and if he keeps it up, I might do it again," Potts told the dispatcher. "Me and my daughter, we can't handle this no more."
Two days later on Jan. 10, Townsend called 911 to turn himself in for killing the women.
When Whitfield County sheriff's deputies arrived, they found Townsend standing in the carport. He was handcuffed and taken to a patrol vehicle without incident.
Deputies then entered the home and found what appeared to be blood on the kitchen floor.
Spainhour was found lying on the couch, and Potts was found lying on a bed in a rear bedroom. Both women appeared to have sustained blunt-force trauma to their faces and suspected stab wounds to their bodies, authorities said.
In the 53-minute 911 call, Townsend tells the operator that he "lost his mind earlier."
He said he didn't remember how long it had been since he'd killed the women, but that it had "been a few hours" and he didn't attempt CPR because it was too late and he "couldn't go back in there."
"I just got out of the shower and she said something to me and I just, I just lost my mind," he said. " I can't remember what she said to me. It triggered me."
It wasn't clear who it was that triggered Townsend.
The dispatcher asks him what would make him upset like that, and he responds, "Normally, nothing. I would never do anything like this, ever."
She asks Townsend if he was related to the women, to which he said, "No ma'am. But they're like my family."
He said he met Spainhour at work and had been living with her and Potts, but hadn't been in a romantic relationship with either woman.
"I'm ashamed of myself right now, that's about all I can tell you," he tells the operator.
Spainhour's dog, who Spainhour said in the Jan. 8 emergency call was 14 years old, was also at the scene.
Deputies said the dog didn't appear to be injured when they arrived, but Whitfield County Animal Shelter personnel said the dog, named Kentucky, began snorting up blood through her nose after arriving at the shelter.
Two photos posted to the shelter's Facebook page showed the dog's paws covered in blood.
"The blood on Kentucky is hers," the post read. "Most have heard now about the double homicide over night in Whitfield County! We have a third victim who was brought to the shelter! This sweet girl belonged to one of the victims and also received blunt force trauma!"
Kentucky was immediately taken to a vet for treatment, the post read.
"Please send positive thoughts for this girl," the post read. "This was a big undertaking and we are hoping for positive results! Thank you!"
A person who knew Spainhour commented on the post, saying, "[Kentucky] is VERY attached to Krystal. She is the type of dog that will escape the fence to go back home. I'm sure she was trying to protect Krystal."
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @Hughes Rosana.