Autopsies showed Jessica Folds died by strangulation and Daniel Robbins died from a heart attack, officials said.
LANETT, Ala. — Alabama authorities say a Georgia man killed his girlfriend, then died from a heart attack while trying to dispose of her body after both were found June 10 in a wooded area near County Road 86 in Lanett.
The deaths of Jessica Folds, 47, of Lanett, and Daniel Robbins, 44, of Macon, Georgia, are being investigated as a domestic homicide followed by a medical emergency, officials said. Autopsy results showed Folds died by strangulation, while Robbins died from a heart attack. Investigators said the evidence at the scene led them to believe Folds was killed elsewhere and brought to the wooded area before Robbins collapsed.
Deputies with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office found the two bodies after responding to a report of an abandoned vehicle along County Road 86. The call came after a pickup truck was spotted in the road with its headlights still on, the driver’s side door open and the tailgate down. Chambers County Sheriff Jeff Nelson said deputies found a visible drag path leading from the truck toward the brush. “Their bodies were right there together,” 5th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest said as he described the scene. Folds and Robbins were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said the first report came in around midday June 10. Deputies found Folds and Robbins near the 1000 block of County Road 86, a rural area outside Lanett in Chambers County near the Alabama-Georgia line. Folds lived in Lanett, while Robbins lived about 125 miles away in Macon. Officials have not said exactly where Folds was killed or how long her body had been at the scene before deputies arrived. Investigators said the truck, the open door, the lowered tailgate and the marks on the ground were key pieces of evidence in forming their theory of what happened.
Autopsy findings released later in June shifted the case from an unexplained death investigation to what authorities described as a homicide and fatal medical emergency. Segrest said investigators believe Robbins strangled Folds and was moving her body when he suffered the heart attack. “He died of a heart attack while doing it,” Segrest said. Officials said Robbins had a preexisting heart condition, though they have not released full medical details. No weapon has been publicly identified, and authorities have not said whether they found signs of a struggle at another location.
Special agents with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation took part in the case at the request of the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences handled the autopsies. Because Robbins is dead, prosecutors are not expected to bring a murder charge against him, but investigators are still working to complete the record of events. Officials have described the case as domestic violence, but they have not released a detailed timeline of the couple’s final hours or said what may have led to the killing.
Folds was remembered by relatives as a mother of three adult sons and a woman who cared deeply for her family. Her death drew grief in Lanett, a small city in eastern Alabama where the discovery of two bodies along a rural road quickly spread through the community. Robbins also had family in Georgia. Public comments from officials focused on the unusual turn of events, with Nelson saying the suspected killer appeared to have died before he could leave the scene. Investigators have said the evidence still must be reviewed fully before the case is closed.
The investigation remained active Thursday, with state agents and local authorities continuing to review forensic findings, witness statements and the movement of the pickup truck before it was found. Officials have not announced another briefing or final report date. The next formal update is expected after investigators complete the remaining case file.
Author note: Last updated July 9, 2026.