Four months after a US couple were murdered inside their Georgia home, a TikTok crime blogger received a message.
Warning: This story contains details which may be distressing for some readers.
"Look up Brock case," it read.
"They’re my parents and out of nowhere [on] a random Thursday night in Feb someone came in my house with me and my five-year-old sister.
"[They] shot my parents brutally leaving them for me and my little sister to wake up to."
Kristin Brock, 41, and James Brock, 45, were found dead in their home in Carrollton in February by their youngest daughter.
Their teenage daughter, 17-year-old Sarah Grace Patrick, then called emergency services.
Over the following months, a TikTok account allegedly belonging to Ms Patrick posted multiple videos mourning her mother and stepfather.
It was this account that high-profile true crime account Allegedly Reporting, along with other popular users, said showed up in her inbox.
"I think it would be a really big hit," the since-deleted "Sarah Grace" account said.
"[Because] the only person who posted about it made it as the first image you see when you Google their names.
"Plus I can give you intel just I can’t give you anything that could break the case.
"That’s what the cops told me."
The messages came in on June 4, 2022.
On July 8, police announced Sarah Grace Patrick had turned herself in.
No sign of forced entry as attack leaves a community shocked
Police were called to the Tyus Road home in Carrollton’s Tyus neighbourhood in the early hours of February 20.
Photos taken that morning showed at least half a dozen police cars surrounding the single-storey home.
Police tape cordoned off the yard as investigators combed through the scene, interviewed neighbours and searched for security camera footage.
[photo]There was no sign of forced entry, they said, but a door had been left ajar.
They had not found a murder weapon.
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Hulsey said the attack had stunned the area.
"This is a very quiet community," she said.
"We may have a few thefts here and there, but we definitely don’t have violent crime [so] this is very unusual in this area.”
The family was well-known in the rural community, particularly through their church.
Ben Bonner, lead pastor at Carrollton’s Catalyst Church, said both Ms Patrick and the Brocks had "jumped right in" since joining last August.
"The entire family … became very, very beloved," he told a court this week.
"Our church family adores all of them … They were there during the week, not just on Sundays, helping."
Other members of the church described meeting a "bubbly” Kristin Brock and her "comical" husband.
[map]"My shoe was untied [at a parade] and before I knew it Kristin was down on her knees tying my shoe," church member Jonan Daniel told Fox5.
"I looked down at her and I was like, 'what are you doing? You don’t have to tie my shoe.'
"But it was just the smallest act of kindness and it just meant so much to me.
"And I remember her looking up at me and saying, ‘this is the type of friend I want to be.'”
A few weeks later, it was standing room only inside the church as the couple were laid to rest.
Investigators were still digging.
'I just want to say goodbye'
On-stage at the memorial service, Sarah Grace Patrick was distraught.
"I just want to stay goodbye … since we never got the chance to," she said.
"I was so used to you guys being here that I never once thought to imagine y’all not being here. I didn’t have a single clue how much I needed y’all until now.
"For James, thank you for all the life lessons you taught me and for being the best bonus dad ever.
"And for my mother, everything we went through does not define what kind of person you were or what kind of mother you were."
In the months following her mother and stepfather’s deaths, Ms Patrick "moved all over", according to authorities.
One woman, Kaitlin O’Keefe, said she was a friend of Ms Patrick’s biological father, and had met her just three days after the killings.
"[Her father] told me what happened, said the kids didn’t have any clothes since the house was closed off," she told a courtroom.
"My heart broke for it … so I came and picked Sarah up and took her to get clothes, underwear, deodorant, your basics.
"She ended up moving in with me … she used to lay in her bed and sob, I would watch her grieve."
Police and authorities have not confirmed the now-deleted TikTok account belonged to Ms Patrick.
Asked about videos and comments posted online, Ms Hulsey confirmed police believed Ms Patrick had attempted to "cover up" the crime in the months following the shooting.
"Considering that she didn’t just immediately tell us what happened, yes, but who knows what’s going on in a young person’s mind like that," she said.
Police say 'mountains of evidence' led to arrest
On July 8, local time, Ms Patrick turned herself in after police informed her father they had an outstanding warrant for her arrest.
She has been charged with two counts each of murder and two counts of aggravated assault, as well as two counts of malice murder and two weapons charges.
Police have said "mountains of evidence" led them to hone in on Ms Patrick as their key suspect.
"While the case has not remained in the public spotlight in recent months, the investigation has never gone silent," Ms Hulsey said.
"Our team has pursued every lead, sifted through mountains of physical and digital evidence, conducted countless interviews, and collaborated with … the FBI, the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] Crime Lab, and private forensic laboratories.
"In a world where television portrays crimes being solved in under an hour, the truth here is much more complex.
"Real justice takes time."
She added it was still possible there could be more arrests and charges laid in future.
Ms Patrick’s father, Doniel Patrick, said he believed his daughter was innocent with "100 per cent of my heart", adding there were "no red flags".
"February 21, I had to come home and tell my son that his mother and his stepfather were dead,” he wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.
"It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.
"Until I had to take my daughter to the sheriff’s office, I did not turn her in.
"She voluntarily went there because of the warrants [and] she has nothing to hide."
[twitter] Other family members, however, expressed doubt.
James Brock’s niece, Kristen Douda, said in an interview with Law&Crime they had had suspicions prior to Ms Patrick’s arrest.
"I’m confident we’ll get justice in this case now," she said.
"She was a sweet girl, she was welcoming to everybody, she was soft-spoken. She always appeared nice.
"[James Brock] said repeatedly, 'she is not the Sarah that you guys know, you don’t see the real Sarah'.
"And so now, looking back, that haunts us. Should we have asked more questions?"
Teen to remain behind bars ahead of trial
During her first court appearance this week, a judge ordered she should remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
Several members of the Brock family spoke at the hearing, stating they feared Ms Patrick may lash out or attempt to intimidate them if released.
[court tv] "The family is sincerely afraid," Prosecutor Michael Parrish told the court.
He added it was understandable there had been no concerns raised about her behaviour before her arrest.
"No-one ever knows someone is violent until they’re violent."
Friends and church members however, described Ms Patrick as kind and connected to her religion.
Superior Court Judge Dustin Hightower ruled Ms Patrick was a flight risk, a "risk to influence witnesses" and a "threat" to the community and her family.
Ms Patrick has been isolated from the general population at the Carroll County jail.
She is set to be arraigned in September, with the trial to begin in January.
Authorities have not released a motive for the killings.
