Estranged husband Quinton Ray charged in missing woman Sueann Ray's death

Danny Jenkins went to visit his 6-year-old granddaughter Charity on Wednesday afternoon to tell her that her mother, missing since August, was dead.

"I'm just going to be honest with her," a crestfallen Jenkins said. "I think that's the only way you can be."

The body of Jenkins' daughter, 26-year-old Sueann Ray, was found Wednesday morning in a shallow grave near a creek in rural Cherokee County, GBI Agent John Cagle said. Her estranged husband, Quinton Ray, 27, was arrested at his home in Pickens County less than an hour later and charged with the murder.

The GBI confirmed for the first time that Quinton Ray had been a suspect in the case from the day his wife went missing, and said a month-long undercover investigation led to Wednesday's arrest.

Cagle would not elaborate on the investigation but said Ray's arrest may not be the last in the case. He said other people "might possibly have knowledge of this and were involved as well."

Sueann Ray's body was found off a dirt road, near a creek, atop a steep hill, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said.

"You would have to carry the body a good distance," he said.

Jenkins, who had often criticized investigators over the pace of their work, attended a GBI press conference in Jasper to announce his son-in-law's arrest. Afterward Jenkins shook hands with Cagle.

"I just thought 164 days was a long time, but I realize that they ... worked their tails off," Jenkins said while clutching the framed photo of his daughter he has carried since she disappeared. "I do appreciate that, but to a dad one day is too long."

Quinton Ray was scheduled to be in court Thursday for a custody battle over Charity with Sueann Ray's family. Instead he is in the Pickens County jail. The child has been living with friends on Sueann's family since her mother disappeared.

The hearing in Jasper at the Pickens Juvenile Court will likely be postponed, said Channing Ruskell, an attorney representing Jenkins.

Quinton Ray told police he last saw his wife on Aug. 26 when she came to his home in Jasper to have him do some work on her Ford Windstar minivan. The couple had separated seven month earlier.

In one of his few public statements, Ray said his wife left his home to pick up their daughter from his parents' home in nearby Ball Ground. He said his wife was then headed for Augusta to visit with her father for the weekend.

Three days later the car was found abandoned in Cherokee County at a Wal-Mart in Canton.

No one has seen her since.

Despite a more than $100,000 reward to entice tipsters the case seemed to go cold and in late October police stopped talking about their investigation.

Woodstock police handed the case over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Bankhead said his agency was called in because the case spans several jurisdictions.

Ray's family hired its own private investigator, former Cherokee County Sheriff John Seay, citing frustration with the lack of police progress.

Danny Jenkins, said he hoped Seay, who was sheriff from 1989 to 1993 after 16 years as a Cobb County police officer, could jump-start the investigation. On Wednesday Seay declined to comment on his role in the investigation.

Jenkins said Wednesday he believed "since day one" that Quinton Ray killed his daughter.

"I guess when you're a dad and as close to your kids as I am you just know, I mean I just knew without a doubt, and he's not the only one involved," said Jenkins, who has another daughter.

Investigators returned to Quinton Ray's home in Jasper on Wednesday to search for evidence police had been alerted to during their recent undercover investigation, Cagle said.

Possible evidence in the case includes items seized during an earlier search of Ray's home and auto repair shop. The results of that search were sealed by a judge.

Although refusing to comment directly, Quinton Ray's attorney, David Cannon, said Ray wanted Sueann to be found alive and was fully cooperating with police.

Quinton Ray's family, who phone records show Ray called multiple times the night Sueann disappeared, drew the attention of investigators when they refused to allow police to search their property in Ball Ground.

The family recently allowed GBI investigators to walk over some of their land but Bankhead said no evidence in Sueann Ray's disappearance was located.