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By Iris Hersey
The LaGrange Daily News

A military man originally from LaGrange has been identified as the murder suspect in the death of a 28-year-old LaGrange woman, who was shot and killed Tuesday near the intersection of Highway 219 and Highway 18.

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference Friday morning and identified Alonzo Dargan Jr. as the murder suspect in the death of Akeila Ware and her unborn child. Ware was killed Tuesday and her wrecked car was found with bullet holes. Ware was taken to a Columbus-area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Captain Kelli Ellington said Ware was 33 weeks into her pregnancy.

Dargan faces charges of murder, feticide and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

“I went to the scene and could not believe that somebody had shot a young mother of five children,” said Sheriff James Woodruff. “On top of that, killed her and she had a baby inside of her that resulted in the death of that baby.”

Ellington, who is leading the investigation, said that Ware and Dargan were in a relationship and that Dargan is the father of the unborn child. Dargan and Ware both grew up in Troup County and met as students in the Troup County School System. Dargan is currently married to another woman, per information released Friday and is stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina as a member of the U.S. Army. His rank was not immediately known.

Along with the child she was expecting, Ware had five other children.

It’s unclear how fast Dargan will be extradited to Troup County, but Woodruff said it’s going to happen.

“Either way he’s coming back to Troup County to face these charges,” Woodruff said.