🏡 In the quiet suburbs of Stone Mountain, Georgia, a mother clung to hope through a phone call that should have marked a new beginning. Artelar Jackson listened as her daughter’s voice—tired but determined—finally said the words every parent longs to hear when danger has overstayed its welcome:
“Ma, I packed all my stuff. I’m ready to go. I’m tired, ma. I’m done.”

👩‍👧✨ Connie was leaving. After months trapped in a relationship defined by emotional abuse, she was choosing safety—for herself and for her radiant 11-year-old daughter, Arielle. The plan was simple and brave: walk away, start fresh, rebuild a life where fear no longer lived.

⏳💥 But moments after the call ended, that future was stolen. Authorities say Roland Suckoo, the man Connie was trying to escape, erupted in violence. When police arrived, they found a scene no family should ever endure: Connie and Arielle were gone, their lives cut short in a brutal double homicide.

🧸🖤 Now Artelar stands in the wreckage of unimaginable loss—grieving not just a daughter and a granddaughter, but a future that vanished in an instant. She is stepping into a new role she never expected: raising her 6-month-old grandson, a baby who will grow up knowing his mother and big sister only through stories, photographs, and love that refuses to fade.

🍂🥀 The pain is sharpened by cruel proximity. Just days before the shooting, the suspect sat at their Thanksgiving table—a reminder of how danger can hide in plain sight, how trust can be weaponized.

📞💔 And there is one detail that haunts Artelar most: the final minutes of that phone call—a promise of escape, a mother’s reassurance, a countdown no one knew had begun. Those last words now echo as both comfort and curse, a reminder that Connie was so close.

🕊️ As a family searches for strength amid sorrow, their story stands as a stark warning—and a plea. Leaving is the most dangerous moment in an abusive relationship. Support, vigilance, and protection must surround those who choose freedom. Because sometimes, the difference between a fresh start and a fatal ending is only a few heartbreaking minutes.