In the curious case of Marianne Shockley, who was found dead in a hot tub with a bloody laceration when a friend died by suicide during the inquest

SHOCKING new details have been revealed about a University of Georgia professor who was found dead in a hot tub with a lacerated head.

The sole survivor of the mysterious gathering has come forward to say that “the devil was at work” the night the woman died and another man at the scene later took his life.

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Admired University of Georgia professor Marianne Shockley was enjoying a hot tub with her boyfriend Marcus Lillard at their mutual friend Clark Heindel’s Georgia home on the tragic night of May 11, 2019, according to CBS.

It would be his last night out with his girlfriend, and Lillard says the two “were madly in love.”

Lillard, the sole survivor at the scene, told CBS ’48 Hours’: “The devil was at work. I mean, anything he could have done to set this thing up to be confusing and deceitful, and it was all there.”

When police arrived at his home at the scene, Heindel told them he didn’t go into the hot tub but stayed on the shallow side of the pool.

At the start of the investigation that evening, Heindel, a 69-year-old former psychologist three decades older than the couple, died by suicide.

Heindel left a three-page suicide note that took no responsibility for the woman’s death by drowning.

Lillard had been drinking and taking ecstasy with Heindel, which he claims led to him having only vague memories of his last night with his girlfriend.

While he wanted to explore the woods during his high, Shockley urged him to stay by her side.

“Baby … get back in that water with me right now,” Lillard told CBS Shockley begged him.

“She had fear in her voice and it was… definitely fear,” he said.

When asked why he didn’t comply with her request, Lillard simply said, “Because I’m an idiot.”

He claims he didn’t know what caused their panic, nor how long he was in the forest.

Still, when he returned to the hot tub, “I could see Marianne slumped under the water, chin up to her nose…”

She also reportedly had a laceration to her head when she discovered her lifeless body.

Authorities estimate the men waited around two hours before calling the police.

Initially, Lillard and Heindel were both named as suspects in the crime, but investigations focused on Lillard as the prime suspect.

Shockley’s cause of death was ruled strangulation by the coroner, and Lillard was charged with felony murder and additional charges in his girlfriend’s death.

He was acquitted just a week after his trial, CBS reported.

Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee claimed it was one of the most unusual crime scenes he’s ever been sent to investigate, according to the outlet.

Years later, Lillard claims that cursed drugs are responsible for two deaths.

“One thing I do know for sure is that it wasn’t regular ecstasy… it was super strong… and I think it was made by evil hands.”

When asked why he thinks the drug itself exerts a nefarious power, Lillard said, “Well, it killed two people…”

On Saturday night, Lillard shares his account of the mysterious tragedy on the CBS Special 48 Hours.

Those with the streaming service are watching Shockley’s chilling episode of The Investigative Program on Paramount+.

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