CENTRE — In a statement posted on its website, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department released details of a weekend incident ended in the deaths of two area residents.

On Saturday, Feb. 19 at around 4 p.m. authorities were notified that a woman’s body had been discovered beside her vehicle at Cornwall Furnace park. Law enforcement personnel from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Cedar Bluff Police Department, district attorney’s office, and the Alabama Department of Forensic Science responded to the scene.

Authorities identified the homicide victim as Jessica Arnell Sharp, 25, Cedar Bluff. Ms. Sharp was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Broderick Smith.

Authorities were notified a short time later that a suspect, Michael Joseph Snider, 39, Gaylesville, had placed a call to police dispatch. Snider indicated that he was in a wooded area approximately three miles from Cornwall Furnace suffering from a self-inflicted knife wound. During the call to the dispatcher, Snider also revealed information about his involvement in the death of Ms. Sharp.

Emergency personnel and law enforcement personnel responded and located Snider in the woods. Snider was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later.