‘Sweet’ 73-year-old found dead in back of store, Georgia cops say. 18-year-old arrested
A body found in a store led to the arrest of an 18-year-old in Georgia, police said.
Farooq Baig, 73, was found dead in the back of a business in Valdosta on Dec. 8 at about 9 a.m., according to a Dec. 14 Valdosta Police Department news release.
Officers learned someone inside the store was “possibly deceased,” police said. At the scene, they saw Baig’s body “near (a) gaming machine ... hidden in the back of the store,” according to the police.
Officers said Baig’s body showed “obvious signs of a physical struggle.”
His body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, police said.
Many people on social media expressed their condolences for Baig’s family, calling his death “senseless.”
“He was a sweet man,” wrote one Facebook commenter who said she knew Baig since 2011.
Further investigation led police to believe Baig’s death was an isolated incident, officers said, and the case would be handled as a homicide.
Police eventually found the suspect, 18-year-old Daja Kalice James, eating in a restaurant and took her into custody, the department said. She was identified as a “responsible party in causing Baig’s death.”
James was charged with murder, malice murder, robbery by force and two counts of aggravated assault, including by strangulation, according to Lowndes County jail records.
McClatchy News reached out to the Valdosta Police Department on Dec. 15 but did not receive an immediate response.
Several people who shared the department’s news release on Facebook expressed shock that James was charged, some saying they knew her and wouldn’t expect her to be involved. One user said they were “praying for her.”
James was booked Dec. 12 at Lowndes County jail and is being held on no bond, jail records show.
Valdosta is about 120 miles northwest of Jacksonville, Florida.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 2:22 PM with the headline "‘Sweet’ 73-year-old found dead in back of store, Georgia cops say. 18-year-old arrested."
