Two women who were killed and dumped off a north Georgia bridge were stepsisters, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Vanita Nicole Richardson, 19, and 31-year-old Truvenia Clarece Campbell, aka Bean, were found Wednesday morning under the Etowah Bridge near Rome, a city northwest of Atlanta.
GBI Assistant Special Agent In Charge Brian Johnston told the Rome News-Tribune the women were “apparently dropped over the bridge”.
A Georgia Department of Transportation crew doing routine maintenance on the bridge discovered the two bodies on dry land near the south bank of the Etowah River around 11 a.m.
The GBI told reporters the deaths are being investigated as homicides. No cause of death was given.
News of the brutal murders shocked the small community in Floyd County. Campbell was well known in Rome, a relative told a reporter.
The GBI released an image of a car similar to the gold 1997 Toyota Corolla registered in Richardson’s name. The two women were together in the Corolla the night before their bodies were found. The car has a Georgia license plate: RTJ 6295. Investigators believe the Corolla is somewhere in the Metro Atlanta area.
Richardson was set to graduate from Armuchee High School on Saturday, May 16.
“Vanita will be remembered for being a fun-loving, humble, and motivated student who was making strong plans for her future,” a Floyd County Schools spokesperson tweeted on Thursday.
“Even throughout the school closures, Vanita’s passing is felt by all. In particular, the staff members whose lives she touched with her caring personality and big heart.”
The spokesperson said the school social worker and counselor are available to students via email for virtual grief counseling, according to 11 Alive News.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious while traveling in the area of the East Rome bypass between 10:30 p.m. Tuesday and 11 a.m. Wednesday is asked to contact the GBI at 1-800-597-8477.
