Shannon Speaks; June 8, 2011

The story: Shannon Lawrence, a 25-year-old mother of two from Canton, died after she was shot four times in the face and neck in the parking lot of Birmingham Crossroads in Milton. Lawrence and the children's father, who never married, used the shopping center as the drop-off point when exchanging their children. Authorities arrested the father, Christopher Erdman of Cumming, within hours of the June 5 shooting.

From the story: "On Jan. 31, Shannon Lawrence asked the Forsyth County Superior Court for a temporary protective order against Christopher Erdman, the father of her children and the man suspected of shooting her four times in the face and neck on Sunday."

The rest of the story: Stanley Constant, Erdman's lawyer, said during a July 13 hearing that his client shot Lawrence in self defense after she attacked him with a six-inch knife. Lawrence's father refuted those claims. Despite pleas from his mother and father for his release, Erdman was denied bond.

Fulton County Judge Karen Woodson dismissed two felony child cruelty counts after prosecutors could not present conclusive evidence that the couple’s two children had been present during the shooting.

What happens next: Erdman was arraigned in October on eight charges: murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking, two counts of cruelty to children and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Go to http://canton-ga.patch.com/topics/shannon-lawrence for all of Canton-Sixes Patch's coverage of the Shannon Lawrence case.