Man Likely Slain Night Before Discovery

Derrick George Gray Jr. was likely killed the night before his body was found July 2 in a wooded area off Circle 75 Parkway near Windy Hill Road in East Cobb.

That's the conclusion of Cobb County police detectives, according to a news release from police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce today.

"Detectives have pursued all active leads in the homicide" of the Smyrna man, the news release says.

The current police theory is that the 22-year-old was killed during the evening of July 1.

A the next day while she walked along Circle 75 Parkway around 4:30 p.m.

Police think the people or person behind the killing drove a silver, midsize sedan, possibly with visible damage.

Anyone with information about such a vehicle or with any knowledge of Gray's final hours is asked to call 770-499-3945.

Gray was buried Saturday at Georgia Memorial Park, Smyrna-Vinings Patch reported.

Gray was a newlywed, and his wife, Anisa, is six months' pregnant.

Although he was raised in Atlanta, he attended high school in southern New Jersey, and several of his high school football teammates rented a van and made the 14-hour drive to attend the funeral. 

“It really hit close to home," friend Robert Darby-McNair told Philly.com. "Basically, he was like a brother to all of us who played football with him.”