The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Boyfriend faces murder charge in Brookhaven woman’s death
He is also accused of texting from her phone to throw off her family.
Aimee Lafakis’ family knew something was off with the texts they were receiving from the 48-year-old woman’s phone.
Her 18-year-old daughter called police Sept. 29 after she returned to the Brookhaven apartment she shared with Lakafis and found that her mother was gone. The woman’s SUV was parked in the garage, her smartwatch was left on the kitchen counter and her dirty dishes were still sitting next to her bed.
The night before, at about 2 a.m., Lafakis’ ex-husband received suspicious texts from the woman’s number, requesting help to clear her credit information, according to a police report that details the woman’s disappearance. Those texts also made it clear that Lafakis was “sitting on her bed alone” at the time.
But investigators do not believe Lafakis sent those messages.
The mother of two was found dead on the afternoon of Oct. 1 in a
remote area east of Dacula, about 30 miles from her Brookhaven apartment. Gwinnett County police have accused her boyfriend, 43-year-old Brandon Wineinger, of killing the woman and trying to conceal her death by sending the texts, pretending to be Lafakis.
Wineinger has been jailed in DeKalb County since Sept. 30 on other charges related to the woman’s disappearance. Gwinnett police confirmed Friday he is now facing additional charges of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault.
The cause of Lafakis’ death
remains under investigation.
“Aimee is loved by so many for her genuineness, loyalty and her love of life,” her family wrote in her online obituary. “Her family and friends were her whole world and she will be an inspiring presence in our lives forever.”
The relationship between Lafakis and Wineinger was new, and her family members described it as rocky, according to the police report. Her daughter told Brookhaven police there were recent incidents of him driving his truck into a garage door and taking Lafakis’ phone and throwing it out a car
window.
A history of text messages found on the woman’s smartwatch also suggested conflict. Using the unlocked device, a Brookhaven officer saw an exchange between the couple where Lafakis accused Wineinger of being unfaithful. Another exchange suggested Wineinger showed up at her apartment Sept. 27, but Lafakis turned him away, the officer said in the report.
Ultimately, Wineinger’s Nissan Frontier led investigators to search the area of Drowning Creek Road, just off Ga. 316 on the Gwinnett-Barrow county line, where Lafakis’ body was found in an empty field.
The skeletal remains of 16-yearold Susana Morales were found in the same area this year. A Doraville police officer stands accused in Morales’ death.
According to the missing person report, Wineinger’s pickup was seen on license-plate-reading cameras in the area of Lafakis’ apartment multiple times in the days leading up to her disappearance. Shortly after 5 a.m. Sept. 29, it was seen leaving Brookhaven city limits, headed toward Barrow County. It returned to the Chamblee area several hours later, police said in the report.
The texts to Lafakis’ ex-husband were not the only ones sent from her phone after she is believed to have died. In a screenshot that police said Wineinger sent to the woman’s sister, it appeared Lafakis apologized to her boyfriend and said she was planning to have breakfast Sept. 29 with a friend.
Brookhaven police also have accused Wineinger of first-degree burglary, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and making a false report. He was arrested after being interviewed Sept. 30, before her body was found. Gwinnett police could not confirm when she died.
The Lafakis family is raising money for Lafakis’ daughters. The GoFundMe campaign had generated $17,000 of its initial $20,000 goal as of Friday.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday Memorial Park funeral home in Braselton.