Athens teacher’s aide murdered by husband who then committed suicide

By Joe Johnson

A special education paraprofessionals for the Clarke County School District was murdered by her husband whio then committed suicide.

The murder-suicide happened over the weekend at the couple’s home in Madison County, where 48-year-old Ricky Kelley fatally shot April Kelley and then killed himself.

The school district on Monday evening posted the following on its Facebook page:

We are deeply saddened by the loss of an irreplaceable member of the CCSD family, April Kelley.

Ms. Kelley was in her 17th year with the district and was a special education paraprofessional at Fowler Drive Elementary School while also serving as the school’s After-School Program coordinator. She also previously worked at Barnett Shoals and Howard B. Stroud elementary schools. More than anything, she was a dear friend to her colleagues, mentor to all students she interacted with, and a friendly face and helpful employee for all Fowler families.

CCSD presented Ms. Kelley with the district’s Employee of the Month award in January 2023 after numerous nominations from colleagues, parents, friends, and community members poured in. They were universal in their praise and agreed Ms. Kelley was always reliable, always willing to go above and beyond in everything that she did, and a true blessing to CCSD.

As one of her colleagues put it, she was a “bright, shining light at Fowler” and “love in human form.”

Please uplift Ms. Kelley’s family, friends, colleagues, and the entire Fowler Drive community in your thoughts as they navigate the difficult days ahead.

Deputies discovered the bodies Sunday after family members reported their concern about a disturbing video that Ricky Kelley had posted on Facebook.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has disclosed that the murder-suicide happened while the husband and wife and were living in a state of separation, and that Ricky Kelley had recently been served with a temporary protective order.

In a video posted to his Facebook page at 12:34 p.m. Sunday, and titled “Final Thoughts” Ricky Kelley gave voice to grievances and hinted at the tragedy to come:

“That is enough to make a man do something that he really don’t want to do, especially if that man has worked all his life…If it takes me doing something crazy, that’s what ima gonna do…I hope that God forgives me but I ain’t gonna be a sucker…

“…You ain’t gonna take what I worked hard for all because you’re angry, because I made a post, and my baby mama commented on the post and it made you angry and so you take a tpo out on me?

Nah, we ain’t gonna play it like that …”

Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and support services by calling Project Safe's 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org