[Correction: we’re reaching out to the Cobb County Police Department to resolve a discrepancy in the public information release, that we repeated in the article. St. Tammany Parish is in Louisiana, while the release stated Florida. We regret the error]

Sgt. Wayne Delk of the Cobb County Police Department announced that the department’s Crimes Against Persons Detectives were notified that detectives with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Proactive Enforcement Unit have located and arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with the death of Beauty Couch. 

Cobb police considered him as a suspect in the homicide and secured a warrant for Murder, Arson, and Aggravated Assault. ​

He is currently in the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Facility awaiting extradition to back to Cobb County.

The Cobb Courier policy on naming detainees and suspects

[The Cobb County Courier has a policy of withholding or redacting the name of suspects unless and until the person is convicted in a court of law or enters a plea of guilty. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty, and the internet has no effective way of removing reports of arrest if the person is exonerated. We do make exceptions in high-profile cases or charges against public officials where exoneration is likely to be as widely publicized as the initial arrest]

Original Story published on August 24.

According to a public information release from Officer Aaron Wilson of the Cobb County Police Department, the Major Crimes Unit is investigating a suspected homicide at the request of the Austell Police Department.

The incident took place yesterday, Wednesday August 23, 2023,  at Joe Jerkins Blvd and Landers Street, where at approximately 12:18 p.m., the Austell Fire Department was dispatched to a brush fire.

Upon arriving, firefighters found an automobile engulfed in flames.

The firefighters extinguished the flames, and the vehicle was towed to a wrecker yard. 

According to the public information release:

“Austell Police responded to the address where the vehicle was registered and learned the owner’s daughter, Beauty Couch (22, Austell), had not been seen since the previous morning and was the one who most commonly drove the vehicle. 

“Austell Police searched the area where the vehicle was found and located a body that matched the description of Beauty Couch in the wood line.”

Based on the initial investigation on the scene, the investigators suspect foul play, and anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Tip Hotline at 770-499-4111.

Crimes Against Persons Unit (aka Major Crimes Unit)

The Crimes Against Persons Division of the Cobb County Police Department is broken down into several specialized units, to investigate homicides, robberies, technology-based crime, domestic violence and stalking, and crimes against children. It has a unit that does crime analysis to identify evidence to help link cases and identify suspects.

The division also houses the Crime Scene Unit which according to the division’s website “is responsible for documenting and processing crime scenes to locate evidence, identify suspects, and to present evidence in criminal proceedings. Crime scene technicians are responsible for processing evidence utilizing a variety of procedures for fingerprint, DNA, and trace evidence.”