William Christopher Fabrizio was a 26-year-old man living with his family in Douglas, Georgia, a small community in the southern part of the state. He shared a home on Robin Lane in the Touchton Woods neighborhood with his parents, John and Rachel Fabrizio, his older brother, James, and James’s girlfriend, Rosaida Figueroa Berrios.
The night of Friday, October 9, 2026, ended in a devastating tragedy that claimed five lives.
At approximately 11:09 p.m., William's mother, 64-year-old Rachel Fabrizio, placed a 911 call. She reported to the dispatcher that her husband, 64-year-old John Anthony Fabrizio, was smoking inside the house and that the smoke was "killing her." This call would be the last communication from the home before the situation escalated into unimaginable violence.
When officers from the Douglas Police Department and deputies from the Coffee County Sheriff's Office arrived at the residence in response to an active shooter report, they discovered a horrific scene. Inside the home, four adults were found deceased from gunshot wounds. A fifth person was found alive but critically injured and was rushed to Coffee Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.
Investigators quickly determined the incident was a murder-suicide. The evidence indicated that John Anthony Fabrizio had fatally shot his wife, Rachel, his two sons, 28-year-old James Nicholas Fabrizio and 26-year-old William Christopher Fabrizio, and 26-year-old Rosaida Figueroa Berrios, before turning the gun on himself. All five individuals resided at the Robin Lane home. Court records later revealed that Rachel Fabrizio had filed for divorce from her husband of 33 years just one month prior to the shooting.
The Douglas Police Department led the investigation, processing the scene and collecting physical and digital evidence. In the days following the shooting, authorities confirmed the identities of the victims and the shooter. While preliminary findings pointed to a clear case of murder-suicide, the official autopsy results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were pending. Police stated that they were not seeking any other suspects and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
The loss deeply affected the small city of Douglas. Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole described the scene as "hard for everybody involved" and spoke of the close-knit nature of the community. Douglas Mayor Tony Paulk called the shooting "heartbreaking," especially as it occurred during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and urged the community to support one another. The Douglas Police Department publicly extended its condolences to the victims' loved ones and acknowledged the profound impact of the loss on the community.
As of October 2026, the investigation remained ongoing, with police awaiting final autopsy reports. The case is considered solved, with the primary suspect deceased. Authorities have asked anyone with information related to the case to contact Investigator Brittany O’Steen at (912) 384-2222 or to submit tips anonymously through the Douglas Police Department Tip Line at (912) 260-3600.
