Jaydrekus Hart
Jaydrekus Hart was held at Smith State Prison in Glennville, Georgia. The Georgia Department of Corrections said that on June 16, 2024, he shot a food service worker in the prison kitchen and then shot himself, and that he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The department said a suicide note was found and that its special agents are investigating, and reporting says it is unclear how he obtained the gun. The worker's mother has sued the department, and the lawsuit says staff had been warned a gun was inside the prison and did not act. The department declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The Georgia Department of Corrections says Hart shot a food service worker in the prison kitchen and then shot himself, and a suicide note was reportedly found; the worker's mother's lawsuit alleges staff were warned a gun was inside the facility and did not act.
Reported by: Georgia Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Grace's mother's lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: The mother of kitchen worker Aureon Grace sued the Georgia Department of Corrections alleging staff were warned a gun was inside the prison and did not act, and the department declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Sources (8)
- Georgia Department of Corrections records, via UCLA Law Behind Bars
- Statesboro woman killed after Smith State Prison incident
- Gun violence comes to a Georgia prison: Inmate fatally shoots food service worker, then kills himself - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Prison worker may have had relationship with inmate
- Georgia inmate shoots and kills 24-year-old female food service worker inside the prison’s kitchen
- Inmate, worker killed in murder-suicide had ‘personal relationship,’ GA officials say
- Prison staff was warned of gun used to kill kitchen worker, lawsuit alleges - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Lawsuit: Ga. prison staff was warned of gun used to kill kitchen worker