Prominent Atlanta Mom Kills Her Adult Children, then Herself, Hours After Saying "I Could Not A

We'll never really know what provoked Marsha Edwards to take the lives of her children but we do know that her children, 20-year-old Erin Edwards and 24-year-old Chris Edwards, were loved by those who knew them.

According to NBC News:

"Police discovered the family while performing a wellness check at the Vinings, Georgia, home, located about 12 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

Erin Edwards was was a student at Boston University and a former intern for NBC New York. The station's vice president, Benjamin Berkowitz, expressed condolences to Erin Edwards' family and friends in a statement.

"Erin Edwards was a gifted storyteller with a passion for her work," Berkowitz said. "Her enthusiasm was infectious and her smile lit up a room. She was an incredibly decent, kind person who earned our admiration. Her talent was truly God-given."

Chris Edwards was a digital content manager for the City of Atlanta and worked in the Mayor's Office of Entertainment, according to NBC affiliate WXIA.

Both adult children were shot and the mother appeared to die of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Marsha Edwards founded a medical equipment supply company called MME Enterprises, according to the company website.

The children's father and Marsha Edwards' ex-husband is Dr. Chris Edwards, a prominent Atlanta-area surgeon who also sits on the board of trustees for the Morehouse School of Medicine, WXIA reported. A spokesperson for the family released a statement to WXIA on behalf of Chris Edwards.

"Dr. Edwards, his extended family and friends are in a state of grief and shock, and privacy of the family is paramount as arrangements are being made," the statement said."

This family was seemingly picture perfect to those who knew them. Erin and Chris being described as "well-educated" and "brilliant". The entire family was well known in the community often being linked to Atlanta's Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms who released her own statement, saying in part "Chris and Erin were beautiful, vibrant and brilliant young adults whom we had the pleasure of knowing their entire lives".

The mother and two children recently attended the National Association of Black Journalists annual conference in Miami.

On Twitter, NABJ President Dorothy M. Tucker issued a statement: "The #NABJ family has lost three of our own. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of Marsha Edwards, Christopher Edwards II and Erin Edwards. This tragedy has claimed the lives of three members, but touches countless more."

The community is left with so many questions but only one that begs to be answered more than any other. How could a mother who seemingly loved and adored her children be responsible for killing them?

Marsha Edwards took those answers with her when she took her own life as well.

We extend our heart felt sympathies to the Edwards family and friends.