New information has been revealed about Cedric Prather Jr., the man who recently snapped a killed four people. The couple’s past was filled with child custody and domestic violence issues.
According to Prather’s sister, the man’s three children were his whole life. When he lost his job as a truck driver, the pressure to try and make ends meet in order to support them caused him to snap and kill his ex-wife, her boyfriend, and two of Prather’s own children.
The Shooting
Just after 3 p.m. on February 14, 2015, Prather walked into the home of ex-wife, Latoya A. Andrews. He then gunned her down, along with her boyfriend, Joseph Terry Brown, and two of his own children: 7-year-old daughter, London and 9-year-old son, Jeremiah. He also critically wounded Andrews’ 15-year-old daughter, Demeshia Owens, and Brown’s 7-year-old daughter, Jada Brown. He then killed himself in the street outside the home.
“His children were his life,” said Prather’s sister Jerdonna Sawyer. “He wasn’t crazy at all. He just chose a terrible way to deal with his pressure and his stress.”
According to Sheriff’s Capt. Bruce Ferguson Prather left no note to explain his actions.
“I can’t tell you why he did it,” Ferguson said. “All I can do is to say he snapped or he had enough is what we’ve concluded in our investigation.”
Divorce
Prather and Andrews divorced in 2006. Court records indicate that the two went back and forth over child-custody. And about a year and a half ago Andrews sought a protective order against Prather, alleging that Prather had forced his way into her locked home and then pinned her down on the stairs and sexually assaulted her. There are no court records that indicate if criminal charges had been filed. A judge ordered Prather to stay away from Andrews and her home. Any meetings to exchange the children were to be done in the Douglasville Police Department parking lot. The protective order expired October 9, 2014.
Past-Due Child Support
State officials claim that in December 2013, Prather owed $31,800 in past-due child support. But in May 2014, Andrews and him reached a child custody agreement that allowed the children to spend half their time with their father. A few months after that, the court issued a final order for Prather to pay $437 a month for child support as well as pay a past-due sum that was to be determined.
According to Sawyer, Prather felt an enormous amount of stress when he recently lost his job as a truck driver and could not help provide for his children.
“We’re all hurting,” said Sawyer. “We’ve all had a great loss.”
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Source: ABC News, Georgia Man Who Shot Ex, Kids Had Fought Over Child Custody, February 9, 2015
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