Couple dead in murder, suicide

Man holed up in house after being stopped in suspected stolen car.

A man and a woman were found dead inside a Marietta home Saturday night in an apparent murder-suicide following an hourslong SWAT standoff, authorities said.

Thirty-seven-year-old Michael Allen Reno had barricaded himself in the home that afternoon after police officers found him in a suspected stolen vehicle, according to Marietta police.

The car had been flagged by Flock security cameras around 4 p.m. and was later found parked on Amy Drive, a neighborhood near North Marietta Parkway. As officers went up to the vehicle, Reno got out and ran inside the home, located nearby on the same street, police said.

During the investigation, police said they learned Reno had been accused of taking about $38,000 in cash and handguns from his brother’s residence in Paulding County.

A SWAT team was activated after Reno refused to leave the Marietta home, which was being rented by a woman with whom he was in a relationship, identified as 35-year-old Courtney Dobberson-Watts, police said.

It’s unclear if Dobberson-Watts was Reno’s wife or girlfriend, said Marietta police spokesperson Officer Chuck McPhilamy. As officers tried to contact Reno, police said, a rifle could be seen from outside.

At 10:15 p.m., police used drones to check out the residence. By 10:40 p.m., officers entered the home and found two bodies. Reno was found dead in a back room next to several weapons and Dobberson-Watts was lying near him, police said.

No other details were provided about their deaths, which remain under investigation. Anyone with more information is asked to contact Marietta police at 770794-5300.