A 38-year-old Columbus woman who worked as a cook at the Waffle House was killed Sunday or Monday after her Lowndes County apartment was broken into.
Linda Snell was pronounced dead at the Cypress Park Apartments on South Lehmberg Road in Columbus at 10:53 p.m. Monday by Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant.
The Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office has a suspect in custody but has not filed charges, said Detective Tony Cooper.
Cooper would not confirm reports the suspect was the victim”s ex-boyfriend, Joe “Joe Thunder” Smith, or that he was the person in custody.
Family members said Snell, who lives alone in the apartment, called a friend Saturday night and asked for help leaving the apartment.
As she was talking, a man thought by family members to be Smith grabbed the phone and said “By the time you get here, she”ll be dead.”
Family members began looking for Snell after she did not report for work Monday. She worked at the Highway 45 North Waffle House and as a cook at the Columbus Inns and Suites (formerly the Master Hosts Inn) in Columbus.
Snell, who has 16- and 18-year-old sons, was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle after Smith attacked her Saturday, said Wendy Kelly, the victim”s sister.
Between the victim”s call to her friend Saturday and the discovery of her body Monday evening, the victim was killed in her apartment by an assailant who entered through her balcony patio door, sheriff”s deputies told family members.
Deputies told the family that Snell fought back, stabbing the assailant during a fight, Kelly said.
The victim is thought to have been strangled.
Her body was taken to Jackson for an autopsy to determine the exact cause and time of death, Merchant said.
Funeral arrangements for the victim have not been set.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.