Northeast Cobb woman charged with murder at Loch Highland home

A woman was arrested and charged with murder Friday in the strangulation death of an elderly woman at a home in the Loch Highland subdivision of Northeast Cobb.

A warrant taken out by Cobb Police against Gretchen Fortney, 52, of a Loch Highland Pass address, indicates she has been charged with murder in the commission of a felony and two felony counts of aggravated assault, including one involving strangulation.

She is being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.

The arrest warrant said that Martha Fortney, 78, was assaulted with “an unknown object or objects” by Gretchen Fortney shortly after 5 a.m. Friday at the residence, resulting in multiple injuries to the older woman’s torso and head.

The warrant states that the victim “was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck” and there was a “visable ligature mark which resulted in her death.”

The warrant doesn’t indicate the relationship between the two women. Cobb property records show that Martha Fortney was the homeowner of the Loch Highland Pass residence.

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