In the light of a bright Friday morning in Macon, Georgia, the life of 51-year-old Cotina Louise Fuller was tragically cut short. On August 16, 2024, at approximately 11:07 a.m., she was fatally shot at a Fast Trip gas station on Riverside Drive. When Bibb County sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene, they found Cotina unresponsive with a gunshot wound. Despite the immediate medical attention from paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was a mother and grandmother, known for her love of cooking and her kind, giving nature, having worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant for over two decades.
The investigation swiftly identified her estranged husband, 44-year-old Wayne Anthony Fuller Jr., as the primary suspect. He had fled the scene in a gold SUV, sparking a multi-county police chase. The pursuit came to an end in Henry County after a Spalding County sheriff's deputy spotted his vehicle and performed a PIT maneuver to stop him. As law enforcement officers approached the vehicle, they discovered that Wayne Fuller had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to conduct an independent investigation into his death.
Further details emerged revealing a history of domestic turmoil. Court records indicated that Cotina had sought a temporary protective order against her husband in April of that year, which he violated a month later. Despite the district attorney's office pursuing charges against him for aggravated stalking and their opposition to his bond, he was released in July. Tragically, Cotina had requested the protective order be dismissed, a request the judge granted, though the district attorney's office continued with the criminal charges, believing Wayne Fuller posed a significant danger. In the wake of this tragedy, the local district attorney highlighted the persistent issue of domestic violence and the critical need for robust risk assessment tools within the justice system.
