Alleged killer commits suicide in Athens

The man who is suspected of murdering a woman in Jefferson Monday morning has committed suicide in Athens.

Anthony Tyrone Appling, 42, Athens, was a suspect in the early Monday shooting of Carlotta Shields Appling, 40, his estranged wife and had been sought in Clarke County. He killed himself mid-afternoon Monday.

According to Jefferson Police Chief Joe Wirthman and GBI agent Jim Fullington: "Officers received information that Anthony Tyrone Appling was located in a residential area behind the Clarke Central High School. Officers from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Athens Field Office responded to the location and spoke to Appling by phone. Appling was with a local attorney at the time. At approximately 3:20 p.m., Appling died of a self inflicted gunshot wound."

The two had a history of domestic disputes, according to officials. The shooting took place at Shields' home on Monte Lane in Jefferson around 6:30 a.m. Monday. A third person was reportedly in the home at the time of the incident.

Appling had roots in Madison County and the Athens area. He was a 1987 graduate of Madison County High School and served in the military.

Shields was a 1989 graduate of Jackson County Comprehensive High School and the daughter of Mary Shields, Jefferson, and the late Mr. Auther Atkism, Winder and the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Theo (Lizzie) Shields and the late Ms. Willie Mae Atkism.

She married Appling in April 2008 and was a member of St. Paul First Baptist Church in Jefferson.

She was recorded singing and giving testimony at the church on Woman's Day 2009 in a program called "Bruised but not Broken."

The video can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t08L1-s5_i4