A 20-year-old Georgia man, Reginald Elliot, is currently in custody after being accused of a series of crimes, including murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony, and tampering with evidence, as reported by the Atlanta Police Department. Elliot’s arrest followed the discovery of a woman’s body in an abandoned storage unit in Atlanta.
On August 13, a 911 call led the police to a storage unit situated behind a local grocery store on Campbellton Road Southwest. The grocery store is currently undergoing renovations. Inside the storage unit, officers discovered the body of 29-year-old Alexis Jane Harlow. Harlow was found naked and had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Harlow was declared dead at the scene. According to the Atlanta Police Department, it is believed that she had been dead for at least 24 hours before her body was discovered. Based on the Fulton County Jail records, law enforcement officials suspect that the murder likely took place on or around August 10.
The gruesome discovery was initially made by an employee who was cleaning up trash at one of the businesses in the shopping center. The employee was visibly shaken by the discovery, as recounted by a fellow worker. The employee was quoted saying, “I poke my head around the truck and see him crouched down on the ground, knees to his head, just screaming. He said, ‘There’s a dead body back there, there’s a dead body back there.’”
Harlow was reportedly familiar to the local community. She had been living in the storage unit for several months and was often seen walking through the business plaza, according to witnesses.
Elliot was already in custody when he was linked to Harlow’s murder. He was arrested on August 27 on charges of carrying weapons within school safety zones, at school functions, or on school property, possession of a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, and a drug-related charge.
The connection between Elliot and the murder was established through surveillance footage and shell casings, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Atlanta Police Department has stated that the investigation is still ongoing.