Sabrina Leigh Bates, a 57-year-old woman from Athens, Alabama, died on April 10, 2026, inside her home in the Watercress subdivision, a quiet residential area near Blair Road and Watercress Drive. Authorities said Athens police were called to the residence around 9:30 that Friday morning, and when officers arrived, they found two people dead inside. The Limestone County Coroner’s Office later identified them as Sabrina Bates and 74-year-old Curtis Bates.
Both had been shot.
The discovery turned an ordinary morning in the Athens neighborhood into the center of an active death investigation. Police secured the scene while the coroner’s office responded, and officials described the case as ongoing. Athens Police Chief Anthony Pressnell said investigators were still contacting family members and had no additional details to release at that time, but he also stated there was no threat to the community, suggesting authorities believed the danger was contained to the home.
Sabrina had deep ties to Limestone County. According to funeral home information, she was born in Limestone County on December 13, 1968, and was a member of Tanner Church of Christ. She had also worked in several local public-service roles, including with the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, the Limestone County Probate Judge, the Council on Aging, and the Limestone County Commission. Those details paint the picture of someone whose life was connected not only to her family, but also to the public institutions and community around Athens.
Online reports and gun-violence memorial listings also recorded Sabrina as having been lost to gun violence on April 10 in Athens, with Curtis Bates listed as another person killed in the same incident. Some obituary-style sites described the case as a possible murder-suicide, but official reporting available online did not identify a confirmed suspect, did not announce an arrest, and did not publicly state that charges had been filed. The more reliable public information remained limited to the confirmed facts: Sabrina and Curtis Bates were found dead from gunshot wounds inside the home, Athens police opened a death investigation, and authorities said there was no continuing public threat.
As of the available online reports, no suspect had been publicly named, no arrest had been reported, and no trial or conviction information was available. The case remained framed by officials as an active investigation into the deaths of two people found inside the Watercress subdivision home.
