On the evening of May 23, 2025, police in Dalton, Georgia, arrived at an apartment complex on Murray Avenue after a routine welfare check request turned into something far more sinister. Inside apartment 1320, they discovered the body of 35-year-old Rebeca Nicole Akins, dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Just hours later, and several miles away, another grim discovery awaited officers at a second apartment on Shadow Lane: the bodies of 33-year-old Cindel Mae Rhoden and 37-year-old Kevin Andrew Akins. The lives of three people, once intertwined through romantic entanglements, had come to a violent and devastating end—two women murdered, and their killer, Kevin Akins, dead by suicide.
As the pieces of this shocking story began to come together, a quiet community was left to grapple with the horror of a double homicide and the unnerving reality that the violence had unfolded over multiple days in the shadows of their everyday lives. While investigators continue their work to piece together motive and timeline, the basic facts, already chilling, speak to the darkest reaches of human desperation, possessiveness, and pain.
This story examines the known details and unpacks the haunting implications of what happened—how a man’s descent into violence shattered multiple families, shocked a peaceful neighborhood, and left behind more questions than answers.
A Chain of Death Begins: The Discovery of Rebeca Akins
Police were first alerted to Rebeca Akins’ possible disappearance when concerned coworkers reported that she had failed to report to work and had not been seen or heard from in days. The concern became pressing on the evening of Friday, May 23, when officers were called to her apartment at 1320 Murray Avenue. With the help of apartment management, officers were able to gain access after knocking went unanswered. What they found was both horrifying and heartbreaking: Rebeca, a 35-year-old woman described by neighbors as quiet and kind, had been shot in the head. She had likely been dead for nearly two days.
The circumstances of her death immediately prompted a full-scale homicide investigation. Officers began canvassing the area, collecting surveillance footage, and questioning neighbors. One key piece of footage would soon tell a pivotal part of the story: Kevin Andrew Akins, Rebeca’s estranged or former husband, had been seen leaving the apartment building around 6:00 a.m. on May 21, the very morning investigators believe the shooting took place.
The discovery quickly escalated the urgency of the case. Kevin Akins, 37, became a person of interest almost immediately. Officers issued a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) alert for his vehicle, and investigators began to reconstruct the final days of all parties involved.
A Second Murder Scene: The Killing of Cindel Mae Rhoden
By the early hours of Saturday, May 24, police efforts had tracked Kevin Akins’ vehicle to another Dalton apartment complex located on Shadow Lane. What they did not yet know was that a second act of violence had already occurred behind closed doors.
As police awaited a search warrant to enter the premises, a man arrived at the building—later identified as the father of 33-year-old Cindel Mae Rhoden. The man had a key to the apartment and entered without delay. Moments later, he stumbled out and dialed 911. Inside the apartment, he had found the lifeless bodies of his daughter and a man later confirmed to be Kevin Akins.
The scene was unmistakable: Rhoden had been shot and killed, and Kevin Akins had died by suicide.
Investigators quickly linked the two crime scenes. The same man—Kevin Akins—was now believed to have murdered two women with whom he had intimate relationships, at separate locations, on different days, before taking his own life. The gravity of the situation was almost too enormous to fathom: Two women, both known to and romantically involved with the same man, were dead, and the only person who might have been able to explain why was now beyond questioning.
Murder-Suicide: A Familiar, Deadly Pattern
Although every such case is uniquely tragic, the contours of what happened in Dalton fit a pattern that law enforcement and domestic violence experts know all too well. Murder-suicide involving intimate partners is a specific and terrifying phenomenon that often presents a predictable—if chilling—trajectory.
According to the Violence Policy Center, roughly 1,200 to 1,500 people die annually in the United States in murder-suicide incidents. In the overwhelming majority—over 90%—a man kills his current or former female partner before taking his own life. Many of these killings, like those in Dalton, involve firearms and take place in homes or private residences.
The motivations vary—ranging from jealousy and control to mental health breakdowns and desperation—but the warning signs are often there: past domestic violence, possessiveness, or the ending of a relationship. What is rarely predictable, however, is when such behavior will escalate to lethal violence.
In Dalton’s case, there has yet to be any public confirmation of prior domestic violence reports involving Kevin Akins. But his ability to kill not just one, but two women—on separate days, in separate locations—strongly suggests a planned and deliberate course of action.
The Victims: Rebeca Nicole Akins and Cindel Mae Rhoden
Little has been publicly shared about the lives of Rebeca Akins and Cindel Rhoden, but neighbors, community members, and local media have begun to piece together portraits of who they were before their names were added to the list of homicide victims.
Rebeca, according to her neighbors at the Murray Avenue apartments, was a reserved but warm person. Vickey Tinsley, who lived just a few doors down, said she often exchanged greetings with her but didn’t know her well. Even so, Tinsley was visibly shaken by the violence.
“It’s kind of scary. Yeah, it really is,” she said. “It’s very quiet out here. And to have somebody kill somebody and then go kill somebody else, and then kill themselves, it’s like ‘okay, I’m gonna lock my door now.’”
Such sentiments speak to the psychic rupture these events cause in small communities. A quiet, seemingly safe neighborhood becomes the scene of incomprehensible violence. Doors that once felt secure now seem vulnerable. And lives that once seemed ordinary are transformed into headlines.
Cindel Mae Rhoden, who was identified as Kevin Akins’ girlfriend at the time of the incident, was just 33 years old. She lived at the apartment on Shadow Lane where her father would eventually discover her body. The trauma of that moment—of a parent finding their child murdered—is nearly impossible to articulate. That her life was taken by someone she likely trusted makes the pain even more acute.
In the days following the killings, there was a marked sense of disbelief among residents. Some had seen Kevin Akins in recent days and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. There were no public outbursts, no warning signs visible to outsiders. And perhaps that is part of what makes such cases so terrifying—how easily this kind of violence can hide in plain sight.
The Killer: Kevin Andrew Akins
What do we know about Kevin Akins? Not much has been released publicly, aside from his age (37) and the fact that he resided in Dalton. We know he was married—perhaps estranged—from Rebeca Akins and simultaneously romantically involved with Cindel Rhoden. Whether those relationships overlapped or followed each other sequentially remains unclear, but what is evident is that both women were significant figures in his life.
The fact that Akins killed them both, days apart, before killing himself suggests premeditation. This was not an impulsive act sparked by a moment of rage, but rather a cold, calculated decision carried out across time and space. He left one murder scene, drove to another residence, and repeated the crime before ending his life.
There are no known criminal records or public warnings that might have signaled danger, but murder-suicides rarely emerge from a vacuum. Police and investigators may still uncover text messages, social media communications, or other digital evidence that sheds light on his mindset. Was he jealous? Desperate? Did he fear rejection or loss of control? Or was this the final act of a man consumed by possessiveness and rage?
Until those questions are answered—if they ever are—speculation remains the only available explanation.
Community Fallout and Fear
For residents of Dalton, a city that seldom sees violent crime on this scale, the murders have shattered a sense of peace. The very notion that someone could carry out such acts in not one, but two residential areas within days, has prompted concern and introspection.
“It’s very quiet out here,” said Tinsley, echoing a sentiment repeated by several neighbors. “And to have somebody kill somebody and then go kill somebody else, and then kill themselves, it’s like ‘okay, I’m gonna lock my door now.’”
Police have since increased patrols in the neighborhoods, and local officials have urged residents to report any suspicious activity, no matter how minor it might seem. Domestic violence prevention groups have also weighed in, calling the case a stark reminder of how urgently intervention is needed in potentially abusive relationships.
The Aftermath: Mourning, Reflection, and Unanswered Questions
As of now, the investigation remains ongoing. Authorities are reviewing surveillance footage, forensic evidence, and possibly digital records that may offer a clearer picture of what transpired and why. But for the families of Rebeca and Cindel, such revelations may offer little solace.
The brutal reality is that both women died at the hands of someone they knew. Someone they likely trusted. Someone they never imagined capable of such violence.
Their families will now be left with the impossible task of piecing together memories from broken timelines, of navigating grief made more complex by the circumstances. There will be funerals. There will be questions that never receive satisfying answers. And there will be birthdays, holidays, and empty chairs at tables that once held joy and presence.
As for Kevin Akins, whatever pain, conflict, or demons led him down this path may never be fully understood. In ending his life, he also ended the possibility of redemption or accountability.
Conclusion: A Community Changed Forever
Three lives ended in one of the most devastating sequences of violence Dalton has ever seen. Rebeca Nicole Akins and Cindel Mae Rhoden were more than victims—they were women with lives, dreams, families, and futures. Kevin Andrew Akins, their killer, was a man whose descent into darkness destroyed all three.
The names will remain with this community long after the police tape is gone and the news crews leave. The impact—emotional, psychological, spiritual—will linger in quiet ways: in the way neighbors now lock their doors, in the way families now worry about the quiet ones, and in the way we all are reminded that intimate violence doesn’t always scream before it strikes.
Dalton is mourning. But in mourning, it is also remembering. And remembering, we hope, leads to a future where fewer names are added to lists like these.
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