Former GA Senator, husband dead in apparent murder suicide

Former Georgia state senator Nancy Schaefer and husband Bruce were found dead of gunshot wounds in their Habersham County home yesterday.

An announcement was made on the House floor last night at around 7:30pm, but no details were disclosed:

The deaths were announced by state Rep. Rick Austin (R-Demorest) and House members immediately stood for a moment of silence at about 7:35 p.m.

“Nancy Schaefer was a great lady, and she served Georgia and her constituents with honor and grace,” Austin told House members.

Autopsies are underway, and law enforcement officials and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are not releasing information on who may have been the shooter until the facts of the case are confirmed by the procedure, saying only that they believe the incident to be a murder suicide. Several notes were left at the scene, but authorities have declined to release the contents.

Schaefer founded an organization called Family Concerns, Inc. in 1986. The group, a non-profit, focused on opposing gay marriage and abortion and fought for the display of the Ten Commandments in public places.