Flags will be lowered to half-staff at the Georgia State Capitol and in Jackson County today in honor of Jackson County Deputy Lena Marshall. Her funeral service is scheduled this afternoon at two o’clock at Free Chapel Church in Braselton.
Deputy Marshall, 49, of Jefferson, was shot while answering a domestic call on the evening of November 5. She died three days later from her wounds.
Law enforcement officers from around the state will be in Jackson County for the funeral. They’ll lead a nearly 16-mile long procession from the funeral home to the church that will leave the sheriff’s office at noon Monday. The procession will travel down Highways 15 and 11 through the city of Jefferson to Highway 124, past the Highway 53 intersection before ending at Free Chapel. A Caisson Unit from the North Carolina State Patrol will carry Deputy Marshall’s coffin in the procession.
For a map of the route, click here
A community mourns
Marshall joined the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in June 2020. She previously worked for the Winder and Helen police departments and the Barrow and Habersham County sheriff’s offices.
“She worked at the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office for several months as a Deputy Sheriff in 2018,” says HCSO Lt. Matthew Wurtz. “We will have multiple deputies at her service today.”
Community members held a prayer service in Deputy Marshall’s memory on Sunday outside the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. They gathered near her patrol car adorned with flowers and balloons dropped off by those paying tribute to her.
Since Marshall’s death, other law enforcement agencies and the public have reached out to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office to show their support.
“People have been so kind during this sad time,” Sheriff Janis Mangum wrote in a recent social media post. “We appreciate you all.”
Deputy Marshall, who leaves behind two daughters and a son, died within hours of another Georgia law enforcement officer who was shot and killed last week while answering a domestic call. A memorial service was held Sunday for Henry County Police Officer Paramhans Desai.
They are the sixth and seventh officers to die in the line of duty in 2021. Last year, seven officers were also killed while serving, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks deaths of law enforcement officers.
The GBI is still investigating the circumstances surrounding last week’s shootings. The suspects in both cases are dead.
Separate GoFund Me accounts have been set up for the Marshall and Desai families. A fund has also been set up for the Marshall family at the Northeast Georgia Bank in Pendergrass. Contributions may be made to the Deputy Lena Nicole Marshall Benefit Fund at any Northeast Georgia Bank branch.
