ECKFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich.-- A man suspected for killing his girlfriend and her unborn child in Georgia, was arrested after deputies got a call about some ‘suspicious’ people selling cleaning products door to door in West Michigan.
The man that was arrested is 40-year-old, Donnel Rawls. He’s been wanted by the U.S. Marshals and Georgia officials since February. The arrest happened in Eckford Township on Tuesday.
The Eckford Township community can sleep a little easier knowing a person that authorities have connected to a brutal Georgia murder of a mother and her unborn child, is behind bars.
Prior to Tuesday’s arrest, the U.S. Marshals had offered a $10,000 dollar reward to help catch 40-year-old Donnel Rawls. Rawls is accused of bludgeoning his girlfriend to death in an Atlanta suburb in February. The 27-year-old girlfriend was 6-months pregnant when it happened.
It was late July when the U.S. Marshals said they believed Rawls might be hiding out in Kansas City, but this week he turned up in West Michigan. An alert resident helped lead officials to the arrest.
“Everybody is looking out for everybody. If they see something suspicious the police will be here and that’s guaranteed,” said Pastor Ralph McCarty of the East Eckford Community Church.
Pastor McCarty says Eckford Township can be described as quiet, tight knit, and friendly.
“Everybody here looks out for everybody,” said McCarty.
McCarty says it’s that assertive neighborhood quality that got 40-year-old, Donnel Rawls, arrested in the area of 22 Mile and D. Drive South, which is right next to the pastor’s church. Authorities say they were tipped off because he was selling cleaning products door to door.
“She called me in a panic asking me if anyone was trying to sell my some cleaning products, and I said, ‘No Mom, settle down, we’re fine,’” said McCarty.
Rawls was caught with marijuana in his possession, and giving deputies a fake name when he was arrested. Fingerprints alerted authorities to the arrest warrant in Georgia.
Pastor McCarty says everyone talks to one another in the area. He said the neighbors most likely had never seen Rawls before, and that they rarely have people going to door to door around those parts.
“They have neighborhood watch here which is at the Eckford Community Center which is the first Monday of every month.”
Donnel Rawls is accused of killing his girlfriend, 27-year old Amber Beckwith and her unborn child. She was found dead in her apartment after she didn’t show up to her job at the tax office she had just opened back in February in Georgia.
Rawls has a long list of convictions including kidnapping, rape, assault, robbery, fraud, and providing false identification.
“I mean I feel safe. My family is here. My wife and my daughter and I feel completely safe."
Authorities warned early on that Rawls had connections in Missouri , Florida, Texas, and Georgia, so Eckford Township residents are wondering how he ended up at their front doors and why. McCarty said it’s all anyone can talk about whether it’s at church, at neighborhood watch, or like at one of his recent golf outings.
“Everyone is asking like did you hear about that? And phone calls like did anyone try to sell you products?”
Rawls is currently being held in Calhoun County awaiting extradition to Georgia to face charges.
