By The newspaper
Jun 17, 2024, 8:16 PM EDT
The Georgia Department of Corrections reported in a statement that an inmate obtained a gun to kill a kitchen worker at Smith State Prison, and then committed suicide. In the preliminary investigation they said that the inmate and the woman had a personal relationship.
Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lori Benoit said in an email statement to the AP that the shooting early Sunday, June 16, at Smith State Prison was an isolated incident and that the investigation was ongoing. .
Authorities confirmed that the inmate identified as Jaydrekus Hart shot and killed the food service employee in the prison kitchen around 4:30 a.m. and then used the gun to commit suicide.
The prisoner left a suicide note
Hart apparently left a suicide note, spokeswoman Benoit said. Likewise, they specified that they have not yet found how the inmate obtained the firearm.
The Georgia Department of Corrections said Monday afternoon that the inmate and the Aramark employee had a “personal relationship.”
“The weapon is in GDC custody at this time and a full and thorough investigation will be conducted into what led to this tragic incident,” the statement said, according to the AP.
The victim was identified as 24-year-old Aureon Shavea Grace of Statesboro, who had worked at the prison since January of this year, according to the department of corrections.
Grace was employed by Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company that provides food services to prisons in Georgia and other states across the country.
They mourn the death of the employee
“We are heartbroken by the loss of our colleague and our hearts and prayers go out to her family,” Aramark spokeswoman Debbie Albert said in a statement emailed to the same news agency.
Prisoner Hart had been incarcerated since 2015, after being convicted in Carroll County of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, and was serving a 20-year sentence, according to online prison records.
Smith State Prison, which has a capacity for 1,500 inmates, is a strict security prison that houses offenders considered violent or at risk of escape, as specified.
With information from AP
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