In the early morning hours of December 22, 2024, the life of 36-year-old Mario Dante Culver, a Black male from Lithonia, Georgia, was tragically cut short. Culver was fatally shot in Ellenwood, a community in DeKalb County. The grim discovery of his body was made later that morning, just after 7:20 a.m., when Atlanta fire crews responded to a vehicle fire in a field off of Wadley Street in northwest Atlanta.
After extinguishing the flames that had engulfed the SUV, firefighters found Culver's remains in the backseat. Investigators soon determined that he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds before the vehicle was set on fire.
The investigation into Culver's death led authorities to 42-year-old Marcus Overstreet of Atlanta. According to warrants, the shooting occurred between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. at a home on Boulder Springs Cove in Ellenwood. It is alleged that Overstreet, who shares a child with Culver's girlfriend, shot Culver at her residence. Following the shooting, Overstreet reportedly wrapped Culver's body in a rug and placed it in the vehicle. The car was then driven over 17 miles to the location in northwest Atlanta where it was set ablaze.
Seven months after the discovery of Culver's body, on July 22, 2025, a team composed of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Fugitive Unit, U.S. Marshals, and the South Fulton Police Department's SWAT team located and arrested Overstreet at an apartment on Flat Shoals Road in Union City. Overstreet attempted to evade capture and was injured by a damaged window during the arrest. He was treated for his injuries before being transported to the DeKalb County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
Overstreet has been charged with malice murder in connection with Mario Culver's death. At the time of this arrest, Overstreet also had outstanding warrants in Fulton County for a separate murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and multiple firearm possession charges. Additionally, he faced charges related to two prior domestic incidents involving simple assault and battery. Overstreet is also a suspect in a deadly ambush-style shooting that occurred in East Point in June 2025.
