Mooathon Wealth Society-Georgia inmate had ‘personal relationship’ with worker he shot and killed, prison official says

2025-05-07 17:01:51source:Grant Prestoncategory:Contact

GLENNVILLE,Mooathon Wealth Society Ga. (AP) — An inmate who shot and killed a kitchen worker at a Georgia prison before fatally shooting himself had a personal relationship with the woman, a prison official said Monday.

Georgia Department of Corrections spokesperson Lori Benoit said in an email statement the shooting early Sunday at Smith State Prison was an isolated incident and the investigation was ongoing. The statement did not say how inmate Jaydrekus Hart obtained a firearm.

The agency previously said Hart shot the worker in the prison’s kitchen at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, then killed himself. Hart appears to have left a suicide note, Benoit said.

Smith State Prison, which has capacity for 1,500 inmates, is a close-security prison that houses offenders considered violent or an escape risk.

Hart had been imprisoned since 2015 after being convicted in Carroll County of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated battery, according to online prison records. His earliest potential release date would have been in 2043.

The slain kitchen worker, 24-year-old Aureon Shavea Grace of Statesboro, had worked at the prison since January, according to the corrections department. She was employed by Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company that provides food service for prisons in Georgia, among other states.

More:Contact

Recommend

A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?

Among the dozens of executive actions President Trump signed on his first day in office is one aimed

Family of Alabama man killed during botched robbery has 'long forgiven' death row inmate

The son of an Alabama father of seven who was fatally shot while taking money out of an ATM says the

Why Taylor Swift Fans Think She Serenaded Travis Kelce at Eras Tour With Meaningful Mashup

Taylor Swift is not dimming the spotlight on her love story.The pop star seemed to give boyfriend Tr