PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — A Georgia high school football coach is under arrest in Maryland and facing murder charges after allegedly walking into a police station and confessing to strangling his girlfriend to death.
The Prince George's County Police Department said 43-year-old Carl Kearney Jr. walked into one of their stations on Saturday morning and "advised officers he strangled his girlfriend inside of her Accokeek (Maryland) home earlier that morning."
Police identified the victim as 38-year-old Patrina Best.
11Alive spoke on Monday to parents and students from Spalding County High School in Griffin, who identified Kearney as the school's varsity football coach.
“At first, I didn’t believe it," said Camri Johnson, who was a football manager for three years at Spalding County High. "I thought people were playing because it was such a shocker for me."
She said the news that her former teacher and football coach was arrested and charged with murder doesn't make sense, "because of the person I know he is."
"I couldn’t see him in that situation,” Johnson added.
The police department said officers responded to the home to conduct a welfare check and found Best unresponsive. Officials pronounced her dead at the scene.
11Alive confirmed through our sister station, WUSA, that the home belongs to Best's parents. Our sister station also confirmed through public records in Maryland that Best attended Georgia Southern University and worked as a traveling nurse.
"During an interview with Homicide Unit detectives, Kearney confessed to strangling the victim during an argument," a Prince George's County Police Department release stated.
Kearney now faces both first and second-degree murder charges.
Lariquia McCord said her son played football for Kearney at Spalding County High for three years, and she said he was like a father figure to his players.
“It hurt,” McCord said. "It hit like a ton of bricks, like ... I’m still in shock."
While she said she was shocked this happened, she said she was not surprised that he confessed.
“He’s just been a stand-up guy, and even with this situation, I still see him as a stand-up guy for turning himself in. He’s showing them accountability and being responsible for your actions,” McCord said.
11Alive reached out to the Spalding County school district repeatedly for a statement and details on Kearney's employment, but the district is on winter break, and school officials did not respond.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Prince George's County Police Department's homicide unit detective at 301-516-2512.
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