ATLANTA, GA – A veteran Atlanta police officer shot and killed his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself Saturday afternoon in what the medical examiner has ruled a murder-suicide.
Kevin Stroner, 56, a 13-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department, and Moriah Cardona, 44, were found dead inside a home in the city’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood around 4 p.m. after friends requested a welfare check.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner determined that Stroner shot Cardona before taking his own life. Both victims suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
Friends had grown concerned when they couldn’t reach either Stroner or Cardona and asked police to check on the couple. Officers arriving at the residence made the grim discovery.
Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Prenzinna Spann confirmed the deaths and said there was “no apparent threat to the community” following the incident. The department has not disclosed what may have led to the deadly confrontation.
Stroner’s personnel file shows he had been with the Atlanta Police Department since at least 2012, appearing in a departmental report from that year. His 13 years of service came to a violent end in the Virginia-Highland home.
The murder-suicide has sent shockwaves through both the police department and the quiet residential neighborhood where it occurred. Virginia-Highland is known as one of Atlanta’s most desirable areas, with tree-lined streets and a strong sense of community.
Neither the police department nor the medical examiner’s office has released additional details about the relationship between Stroner and Cardona or any history of domestic issues.
Domestic violence involving law enforcement officers remains a significant but often underreported problem nationwide. Studies suggest police families experience domestic violence at rates higher than the general population.
The investigation into the circumstances leading up to the murder-suicide is ongoing.
