HollyMatkinAtlanta, GA – A 58-year-old grandmother was found dead inside the trunk of her own car on Thursday, and was likely lured to her death, her family said.
Investigators determined that Toni Abad, a Publix grocery store employee, was murdered on Dec. 22, The Epoch Times reported.
Employees at a nearby store noticed the woman’s abandoned car behind a Waffle House at approximately 6 a.m. on Friday, but police were not contacted until 11:20 a.m., WSB-TV said.
When an officer arrived at the scene, he found that the driver’s side window of the vehicle had been broken out.
Investigators then discovered Abad’s lifeless body stuffed into the car’s trunk.
Her son, Timothy Abad Jr., said that a surveillance video showed his mother being flagged down by a woman as she left work late Thursday night, WSB-TV reported.
Police said that the woman, 18-year-old De’asia Page, asked Abad for a ride.
When Abad agreed to help, Page led her to a location where 18-year-old Jared Kemp was also located, Timothy said.
“For all those who know my mother Toni Abad she was taken from us yesterday while trying to help someone she thought truly needed help, this was not the case.. My mother was robbed and murdered and stuffed in the trunk of her car,” Timothy said in a Facebook post on Saturday night. “For now if you could just say a prayer for my mother and her family we would greatly appreciate it.”
Investigators have not released a suspected motive for Abad’s murder, but the victim’s friends and family told WSB-TV that the assailants beat the woman severely before they stole the Christmas gifts she had purchased for her five grandchildren.
“They beat her first. She was already dead, then they shot her,” her friend, Cha’Brandi Watson told WSB-TV.
“She was going to wrap presents,” Watson said. “She was going to be with her grandkids the next day, and she never even got to see Christmas.”
Page turned herself in to Union City Police on Sunday, and has been charged with aggravated assault with intent to murder, and murder, The Epoch Times reported.
Kemp was arrested on Monday, and has been charged with possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, aggravated assault with intent to murder, and murder.
“Many people would agree this was the hardest working woman they ever met,” a member of Abad’s family told WAGA. “This woman loved everyone else more than herself… She is survived by 4 sons and 5 grandchildren. My mother tried to see the good in people even when it was ill-advised but she was very loved and will not be forgotten. Toni had just witnessed her 5th grandchild being born 6 weeks prior.”
Page and Kemp waived their initial appearances on Tuesday, WSB-TV reported.
Their next court hearings are scheduled for Jan. 9, WAGA reported.