Left inset: Daniel Robbins (Aaron's Birmingham Mortuary Service). Right inset: Jessica Folds (Jeffcoat Trant Funeral Home). Background: The area in Alabama where Daniel Robbins died from a heart attack while dumping the body of his girlfriend, Jessica Folds, after strangling her (WTVM).
An Alabama woman was strangled to death by her boyfriend, who then died while trying to dump her body in the woods.
"He died of a heart attack while doing it," 5th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest told AL.com about Daniel Robbins, 44, of Georgia, who killed his girlfriend Jessica Folds, 47, sometime in early June.
"Their bodies were right there together," Segrest said.
Folds and Robbins had been dating before their deaths, according to Georgia television station WTVM. The couple was found on June 10 around 12:30 p.m. after Chambers County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to an area along County Road 86 in Lanett to investigate an abandoned vehicle.
"Upon arrival, deputies located a deceased white female and white male in a wooded area near the vehicle," the Chambers County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook.
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) was called in to investigate, and the bodies were transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for autopsies to determine their causes of death.
"Based on the investigation … the female victim was strangled, and it appears the male was attempting to dispose of the body in a remote location," Segrest told AL.com.
The abandoned vehicle that police found was still running when deputies arrived on scene. The driver's side door was open and the tailgate was down, according to Segrest. There were drag marks found in the dirt from the truck to the location in the woods where the bodies were found.
Investigators believe Robbins was in the middle of moving Folds' body and attempting to dump it when he collapsed and had the fatal heart attack. His ex-wife told WTVM that he had a preexisting heart condition.
Chambers County Sheriff Jeff Nelson told the station that the location where Folds and Robbins were found is believed to be a drop site, not the location where Folds was killed. He said the person who reported the abandoned truck also saw the couple's bodies in the woods but thought they were mannequins.
According to Nelson, Folds was found with her hands raised over her head, while Robbins was in a fetal position. Folds reportedly lived just a few miles from the discovery site with Robbins in Lanett. Robbins was living in Macon, Georgia.
An obituary for Folds describes her as a mother of three who "lived and worked many places in the Auburn-Opelika area" of Alabama.
"Jessica touched the lives of many with her heart of gold, deep love for everyone, and smile that brightened the world," the obituary says.
An obituary for Robbins, which was posted after his body was initially discovered but has since been taken down, says he was a father and "country boy" who worked as a welder and farmer, AL.com reports.
Officials have not released a motive for Folds' killing.