Girl, 4, Returns Home 8 Months Later

With the help of the Canton Police Department, a woman and her daughter were reunited late Sunday night.

Late Sunday night, a detective with the Canton Police Department negotiated the safe return of a 4-year-old Canton girl who spent the last eight months in Massachusetts with a man who hasn't been legitimized as her biological father. The saga, Detective Rodney Campbell said this afternoon, began in July 2011. That's when a woman permitted the man to take her daughter to his mother's Fitchburg, MA, home, a little more than one hour northwest of Boston. With no court-ordered child custody agreement between them, the man and the woman made a verbal arrangement: Return the girl to her River Ridge at Canton home by Aug. 15.  But as that date—and several others—approached, the man had one excuse after another. His brother was dying. His mother …

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Photo Gallery: The Funeral of Shannon Lawrence

This afternoon, family and friends remembered the 25-year-old Canton woman who died after Sunday's fatal custody swap in Milton

Hundreds of mourners said goodbye this afternoon to Shannon Lawrence, the 25-year-old Canton woman who died after Sunday's fatal custody swap in Milton. A funeral mass was held at St. Michael the Archangel in Woodstock, followed by a procession to Cherokee Memorial Park in Canton. Return to canton-ga.patch.com, alpharetta.patch.com and cumming.patch.com later tonight for the story from freelance journalist Denise Ray.

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Crime Blotter

Suspect, Victim Had Rocky Times

As the visitation for Shannon Lawrence gets underway in Woodstock, newly released Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reports offer a glimpse into the woman's troubled relationship with shooting suspect Christopher Erdman.

Christopher Erdman and Shannon Lawrence had a rocky relationship. There were calls to law enforcement. There were protective and restraining orders. There were court interventions. And on Sunday, there were gunshots. Lawrence, 25, of Canton, was shot four times in the face and neck in the parking lot of Birmingham Crossroads, 15780 Birmingham Hwy., Milton Police Capt. Shawn McCarty said. She later died from those wounds at Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming. Newly released records supplied by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reveal years of friction, usually over their two children, a son who turned one year old today and a daughter who will turn three on June 25. The first known call to the sheriff's office was placed at 1:11 p.m. …

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Crime Blotter

Shannon Speaks

The 25-year-old Canton woman who died after Sunday's fatal custody swap in Milton typed this note to the Forsyth County Superior Court on Jan. 31.

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. As part of that petition, which was granted but later dismissed, she typed the words on page 3 of the above PDF file. Visitors can pay their respects to the Lawrence family from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Woodstock Funeral Home. A funeral mass has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at St. Michael the Archangel in Woodstock, followed by a procession to Cherokee Memorial Park in Canton. Randy Lawrence, Shannon's father, said that a trust fund has been set up for his two grandchildren, Emma Catherine Marie Erdman …

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Crime Blotter

Advocate: System Failed Slain Mom

After a Cumming man allegedly shot a Canton woman in front of their children Sunday, the Cherokee Family Violence Center wants to revisit the judicial process meant to protect victims of domestic violence.

The executive director of the Cherokee Family Violence Center pored over the court files of Shannon Lawrence, the 25-year-old Canton woman who died after Sunday's fatal custody swap in Milton. The files, Meg Rogers said, revealed a woman who was afraid. "She’s reporting it to law enforcement," she said. "She’s reporting it to the court. She says in her court pleadings he has guns" and asks authorities to remove all weapons from her ex-boyfriend's Cumming home. That ex-boyfriend, 25-year-old Christopher Erdman, is now in the Fulton County Jail, accused of shooting Lawrence four times in the face and neck in front of their children. For more than 25 years, the Cherokee Family Violence Center in Canton has assisted battered women. Lawrence …

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Crime Blotter

Suspect Had June 15 Court Date

Three Fridays ago, Shannon Lawrence told the Cherokee County Superior Court that she feared for her safety.

Three Fridays ago, Shannon Lawrence told the Cherokee County Superior Court that she feared for her safety. Christopher Erdman, the father of her two children, refused to comply with a March 2 protective order that prevented him from harrassing and abusing her. He "continually" fired off "threatening" and "intimidating" emails and texts to the Canton woman, her attorney alleged in a May 13 motion for contempt. "This conduct has caused great concern and fear for the Defendant," the attorney, Michael McLaughlin, wrote. Erdman, 25, was ordered to appear before Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Anthony Baker on June 15 to respond to the allegations and others. Now the Cumming man will appear before a Fulton County judge for another reason: …

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Crime Blotter

Suspected Shooter in Custody

Christopher Erdman allegedly shot Shannon Lawrence, the mother of his children, at the spot where they hand off the kids to one another.

A 25-year-old Canton man has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of his children's mother. Christopher Erdman allegedly shot Shannon Lawrence, also of Canton, four times in the face and neck in the parking lot of Birmingham Crossroads, 15780 Birmingham Hwy., Milton Police Capt. Shawn McCarty said. McCarty said Erdman and Lawrence, who never married, used the shopping center as the drop-off point when exchanging their two children. It's unclear if the children witnessed the shooting. Milton police responded to a call at 2:02 p.m. today of shots being fired at the mostly empty shopping center, according to Milton Police Capt. Shawn McCarty. When they arrived, they found shell casings in the parking lot along with a pool of …

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Rodney Thrash

8:07 am on Monday, June 6, 2011

Hi, David! This is such a tragic story and the Lawrence family is in our prayers. I know that this is a difficult time, but I was hoping to speak to Mrs. Diana Macksey or any other relatives and friends. Please call me at 770-367-9568 as we are working on a follow-up story today. Thank you for helping us tell Shannon's story accurately.   more ›