UPDATE (Dec. 6, 9:18 a.m.): The deaths of Robert and Lendene Dendy have been determined to be a murder-suicide, according to officials. Both Dendys died of gunshot wounds with Robert Dendy's being self-inflicted, according to Newton Sheriff's Deputy Cortney Morrison. "The family hasn't released a motive, and we haven't been able to uncover one," Morrison said. The bodies have been released to the family.
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(Dec. 5, 1:37 p.m.) The deaths of two teachers found deceased in their Newton County home Monday morning is still under investigation, and students and staff at their schools are trying to make sense of the situation.
Lendene, 39, and Robert Dendy, 44, were found dead at 265 Stone Ridge Way around 7:45 a.m. by a family member, according to Newton County Sheriff's Deputy Cortney Morrison and county Coroner Tommy Davis.
Robert Dendy was a teacher at Edwards Middle School in Rockdale from 2006-2011 as a physical education teacher and athletic director, according to Rockdale County Public Schools spokesperson Cindy Ball. She said she did not know why he left his position there.
Lendene Dendy was a popular third-grade teacher at Live Oak Elementary School in Newton.
The initial call came in to dispatch as a possible suicide, though Davis said the cause and manner of death is being withheld pending the outcome of the investigation by the NCSO and the coroner's office. Autopsies were performed on the couple Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Medical Examiner, but the cause of death has yet to be released.
"Our school community is deeply saddened by Ms. Dendy's death," said Live Oak Elementary Principal Ericka Anderson in an email Tuesday. "Ms. Dendy was a gifted teacher who truly had our students' best interest at heart. To us, her legacy will always be the love, dedication and commitment she displayed to not only her personal family but also to her school family."
Sherri Davis-Viniard, Newton school director of public relations, said there were counselors at the school to help both students and faculty members should they need it.
"This is obviously a terrible tragedy," Davis-Viniard said Tuesday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Dendy's family during this difficult time."
