Paragraph 13 reads: "Police told The State they did not know where the semiautomatic rifle came from. Kelly told investigators he has been in several mental hospitals and was taking medication to treat depression . He does not have a criminal record."

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BEACH WOMAN HAPPENS UPON DEADLY CONFRONTATION

Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) - July 24, 1993
Author: Mike Mather, Staff writer

Georgia Gronda's neighbors in the condominium complex scared her with their brash manners and abrasive attitudes. ``They weren't very nice tenants,'' another neighbor said.

Plus, Gronda missed her husband, who had traveled south to take a job.

So, she packed up some of her belongings last week, put her black Labrador in the car and drove to visit her husband, who moved into an apartment in Columbia, S.C., two months ago.

She had stayed behind to sell the couple's condominium after her husband, Dan, landed a job as a computer analyst in Columbia.

But in fleeing one unnerving situation, she unknowingly landed in one far more dangerous. Hours after she arrived on her husband's doorstep, she was dead.

According to reports in The (Columbia) State and from the Richland County Sheriff's Office in Columbia, Georgia Gronda stumbled into a feud between her husband and his roommate, who has a history of mental problems. The roommate, Bobby D. Kelly, 49, told Dan Gronda he did not want a dog in the two-bedroom apartment in northeast Columbia. The men argued about it and finally quit speaking to each other.

Then, on July 14, just hours after Georgia Gronda arrived at her husband's apartment with the dog, Kelly ended the argument with a civilian version of an M-16 military assault rifle.

Police say he shot and killed Dan and Georgia Gronda in the apartment's kitchen. He chased the dog around the house and shot it several times. It died by the Grondas' sides.

The couple and their dog were apparently shot several times, although authorities would not be more specific.

Later, Kelly turned himself in to police.

Georgia and Dan Gronda, whose ages are not known, last lived in Virginia Beach in the 700 block of Harbor Springs Trail in the Windsor Oaks West area. Neighbors here described the young couple as personable and well-liked.

Kelly is being held on two murder charges and is being psychiatrically evaluated.

Police told The State they did not know where the semiautomatic rifle came from. Kelly told investigators he has been in several mental hospitals and was taking medication to treat depression . He does not have a criminal record.

A public defender in Columbia who was originally assigned to Kelly told The State that Kelly would probably use an insanity defense.
Edition: FINAL
Section: LOCAL
Page: D3
Correction: ***************************************************************** A couple murdered in Columbia, S.C., formerly lived in the Chimney Hill section of Virginia Beach. A story Saturday had an incorrect neighborhood. Correction published Tuesday, July 27, 1993. *****************************************************************
Index Terms: MURDER
Dateline: VIRGINIA BEACH
Record Number: 9307240499
Copyright (c) 1993 The Virginian-Pilot
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BEACH WOMAN HAPPENS UPON DEADLY CONFRONTATION