In the months before she was killed, 21-year-old Anke Furber had been acting scared and she seemed to know she was in danger. Several days after Furber’s charred remains were discovered in a small vineyard in Norcross, Anke's mom, Ria, found a note in Anke's desk at home in Marietta. In it, Anke seemed to foreshadow her own death. She wrote “my parents would surely grieve the loss of their wonderful daughter whose craziness would soon lead to her slaughter.” Ria isn’t sure exactly when the note was written, but believes it was written in a close time frame to the actual murder.

Just before, Anke had been spending more and more time at home; taking walks, riding her bike and reading. Her behavior was unusual, because she usually spent a lot of time away from home with friends. “She was very scared. She was afraid,” Ria continued. “When we ask her what she was afraid of, or who, she just said I have a problem. Anke never ever said anything. Maybe she was afraid we would be involved.” Police and Anke's family believe her drug use may have been her downfall, putting her into contact with dangerous people who may have had a motive to kill her. Although Anke had been trying to stay clean from meth, she sometimes relapsed, Ria said. “She never completely quit using, and I know that and I cannot change that, but she really tried,” Ria said. “We kept the door open that she could always come home. We wouldn’t let her fall down.” No one is certain of Anke's comings and goings during her last days alive.

Ria had gone to visit her family in the Netherlands, and her father was vacationing with his brother. Anke's father spoke with her on the phone Sept. 22 and 23. Police believe Anke disappeared on Sept. 24. The following day, two children, ages 8 and 10, were picking grapes with their parents in Norcross when they stumbled upon a burned body in the vineyard. Police were able to identify the remains as Anke Furber through a fingerprint analysis. Investigators don’t seem to know the motive. “She was involved in some things,” Detective Lorenzo, of Gwinnett Co. Homicide Dept. said. “It could be drugs, it could not. It could be a jealous boyfriend or something. I know she had issues with drugs. That’s a real bad type of thing to get into because people unfortunately will kill you over half a joint.” Lorenzo said the fact that no one was aware of Anke's comings and goings prior to her death has made the investigation more difficult.

Anyone with information that may lead to an arrest in the slaying is asked to come forward. You are urged to PLEASE, PLEASE come forward if there is any bit of information that you could share, to maybe bring all of her family and the people that loved her closer to any form of closure. Right now, this is being referred to as a cold case, and to us, it is anything but that. We loved Anke beyond measure, and just pray that there can be peace with us, in ending this unanswered loss.