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Ethiopian man found murdered in his Atlanta home

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

(WSBTV) Investigators spent the night searching for clues after a paralyzed man was found murdered in his home. Police found 51-year-old Tedla Lemma dead inside his home on Kenion Forest Drive in Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta (Gwinnett County).

Officials said the preliminary investigation indicated that Lemma died from unnatural causes and have ruled the death a homicide.

Neighbors told Channel 2 Lemma lived in the home in the quiet neighborhood with his brother.

“Two very, very nice brothers owned a convenience store. One had been shot when the convenience store was robbed and he was partially paralyzed,” neighbor Suzanne Zarozsky told Channel 2’s John Cater.

Tuesday afternoon, loved ones of Lemma received news from Gwinnett County police that he had been killed following a family member’s request that they check up on him.

Once authorities received permission to go inside the home, officials found the 51-year-old unresponsive on the floor.

“It’s common for them to everyday make a check on this person and when they could not get this person to the door today, that’s when they contacted Gwinnett County police,” said David Schiralli with Gwinnett County police.

Crime scene investigators worked into the early morning hours of Wednesday searching for clues.

The cause of death and its circumstances are still under investigation and are not known at this time, according to Gwinnett County police.

Family members told Channel 2 the victim moved here from Ethiopia in the 1990s to “live the American dream.” They said first there was the convenience store robbery that left Lemma partially paralyzed and then his murder.

Officials said they have no suspects.

12 thoughts on “Ethiopian man found murdered in his Atlanta home”

  1. Paralyzed and still continued to work, dead for sometime, and the killer not yet found, the 51—year old Ethiopian man, trying to achieve the American dream, lost his life for such dream of mine, yours, and many others’.

    The death of this hard working Ethiopian man is a great shock for the rest of us all Ethiopians who are trying to improve our lives and the lives of our family through hard work, one of the Ethiopian work ethics. May his soul rest in peace!

  4. What a sad story.
    Please Ethiopians in Atlanta area tell me about that city.
    Murder seems like a highly frequent occuring.Is it neighbourhood centric, ethnic centric,business centric what?
    I want to hear is from personal Abesha observation, not the main stream study etc.
    Please help me understand,Thanks,

  5. What a sad story!I heard Ethiopians are killed by others here and there in other states too.What is the reason for all these chaotic actions?
    I know Ethiopians are hardworking,We know why We left our beloved homeland,We are not OFFENSIVe to anybody.Let God bless his soul.
    TAKE CARE FOLKS!

  6. This is tragedy. I felt sorry for him and his family.
    May we have his picture if possible? We shall only
    send our condolence rather than blaming others.
    Let us feel that we have lost one of our men as a true
    Ethiopian.

    Thank you.

    Yigermal
    03.26.2008

  7. ethiopiawi

    Assta B. Gettu amseginhalew ye letefikewyen saneb
    enbaye teb teb TEB ale geta yebarekih ante kalkew lela
    me tsaf asfelagi adelem !
    ” Wendimachin Tedla Lemma egizihabiher
    nefisihen wede genet yagbat ”
    Le betesebochochum tinatun yestachew
    AMEN !

  8. I am from Atlanta, and I am close to him and to his family. The sad thing is that he was partially paralyzed as a result of similar incident in 1993. The Gas Station he was working was getting robbed when he was shot in his head. He survived, but lived the last 15 years as partially paralyzed. Among those 15 years, 4 years in comma. Ironically, he was killed on Tuesday when buglers broke in the house to rob.

    His brother, Sirak, he was taken care of him the last 15 years. He has done everything he can to make his brother happy. I hope GOD will give his the strength to go through this difficult time, and I am sure everything he has done for his brother is not in vain. God bless our brother’s soul.

  9. I have a question for Dagna. First of all I would like to thank you for giving us more insights into the victims history and his family. Mt heart goes out to all of them. My question to you is did they have a security system such as ADT installed at their residence? These burglars must have an idea what kind of person lives in the house and alone during certain hours. Crime is escalating in the south. The spread of drug use and notorious gangs has fueled the deeds of these evils. The nature of the crime has also gotten more gruesome and ruthless. May God Bless His Soul!!!!

  10. I knew Tedla from back home.Tedla was a man of principle,loving,caring and always stood up for what is right. Tedla also was Mama’s favored boy raised with special care among his six siblings. Even though he is not the oldest in the family he was considered to be the role model for his brothers, other family members and friends. Tedla was hard working and doing well in Ethiopia too.But sometimes bad things happen to good people.Thank God his mom went to be with the lord before him because she would not be able to handle this.Most of all I am deeply saddened by the way Tedla was dealt his card in America, he deserved better. But yet again life is never fair. To me personally I lost Tedla some 20 years ago. May God receive him with open arms and join him with his mom who loved him so much. May he rest in peace. I don’t know how to express what I feel right now anyway my condolence goes to all those who morn him.

  11. Tedla was love so much by his family especially his nieces
    Chupzi and Abby. We all miss him and love him .The neigbourhood will miss him at the bus stop waiting for the kids. He was the uncle for all his nieces friends. My we all pray for his soul to rest in peace

  12. Eventhough we live far,as family members we are deeply sorry and sad when we heard the news of our brother Tedla’s death.we never forget his pain & suffering for all those years and now his sudden death really broke our heart.we always remember Tedla in our daily prayer.may god rest his soul in peace in his eternal home and also give strength for his family.

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