In the quiet community of Ellenwood, Georgia, a tragic event unfolded in the early hours of a Monday morning in February 2017, leaving two people dead and a neighborhood in fear. Just after midnight, police were called to a home on Chester Lane for a reported home invasion and shooting. Inside, they discovered a grim scene.
A 37-year-old woman, Scherell Venisee, was found with gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.
In the garage of the home, officers found Dectric Searcy, a male victim, also suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. While some initial reports stated Searcy was 27 years old, other sources reported his age as 42. Both victims were Black.
Investigators determined that two men had ambushed Searcy in his garage as he was getting out of his vehicle. The assailants then entered the house and were confronted by Venisee. When she went into the garage, one of the suspects opened fire, striking both her and Searcy numerous times. Tragically, the couple's children were inside the home at the time of the incident.
In the days following the double homicide, Clayton County police released composite sketches of two male suspects. The first suspect was described as a Black male in his late 20s to early 30s, with a slender build, a clean-shaven face, and twists in his hair that had red or pink tips. The second suspect was described as a Black male in his mid-20s, standing around 5'8' or 5'9' with a low-cut hairstyle and tattoos on the side of his neck.
During their investigation, police discovered a significant quantity of drugs in the home, leading them to believe the home invasion and murders were drug-related. Despite the release of the sketches and the suspected motive, no arrests have been publicly announced in the years following the deaths of Dectric Searcy and Scherell Venisee. A neighbor who was also Searcy's barber described him as a 'very good guy' and expressed his devastation over the killings. The case has left a lasting impact on the community, with neighbors expressing their fear and heartbreak over the violent crime that took the lives of two parents.
