Sheriff: Woman killed by ex-co-worker Fred Whitmore in break-in

A woman was killed in a shooting that the Cherokee County Sheriff is calling ”bizarre.

Georgia Newsday went to the home on Bethany Manor Way in Ball Ground, where the victim was found dead Friday.

According to Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison, 53-year-old Barbara Smith dressed in camouflage and head gear staked out the home of a former co-worker from a mile away. When the homeowners wife left, the woman snuck into the house through the garage with a gun, Garrison said.

The homeowner, identified as Fred Whitmore, 54, and Smith struggled with the gun, and Smith was shot in the head, Garrison said.

Garrison said deputies haven’t determined the motive behind the break-in. It is also unclear if the relationship between the two was more than professional.

”The person that obviously knows the most about the situation is deceased, so it’s going to be a very difficult to ever determine exactly, 100 percent what the motive must have been, Garrison said.