Madison County native kills estranged wife, commits suicide

Jefferson law enforcement officials responded to a shooting on Monte Lane off Holder Siding Road in Jackson County. Carlotta Shields, 40, lay dead in her home, the victim of domestic violence.

Shields was shot and killed at around 6:30 a.m. Monday with a handgun by her estranged husband, Anthony Tyrone Appling, 42, a former Madison County resident. Appling later in the day shot himself while on the run in Athens. He was talking with a lawyer and law enforcement officials at the time of his suicide.

The murder-suicide ended years of domestic violence between the two as Shields had filed multiple police reports and court actions against Appling since their marriage in April 2008.

In May 2009, Shields filed for a temporary protective order against Appling. She reported that he had been violent in the past with her and that he threatened to kill “somebody.”

In March 2010, Shields filed for another TPO, saying Appling had a “major” alcohol and drug problem. He had again threatened violence against Shields.

In July, she sought a third TPO in which she said she was “scared” of Appling.

“Due to my past experiences with him, I’m scared,” she wrote in the court filing. “I’ve had two TPO in the last year. Police officers have advised me to get out of this ASAP.”

In August 2010, Shields filed for divorce from Appling.

AREA ROOTS

Appling had roots in Madison County and the Athens area. He was a 1987 graduate of Madison County High School and served in the military.

Shields was a 1989 graduate of Jackson County Comprehensive High School and the daughter of Mary Shields, Jefferson, and the late Mr. Auther Atkism, Winder and the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Theo (Lizzie) Shields and the late Ms. Willie Mae Atkism.

She worked at Mayfield Dairy in Braselton and leaves behind two children, a son and a daughter.

Shields was a member of St. Paul First Baptist Church in Jefferson and was recorded singing and giving testimony at the church on Woman’s Day in November 2009 in a program called “Bruised but not Broken.”