3 Teen Suspects Arrested After Georgia Girl Was Found Shot To Death In Her Bed

In the early morning hours of Feb. 21, 2023, Madison Gesswein’s mother found the 15-year-old girl dead in her bed. When she had entered her daughter’s room, she noticed the window was open, and the blinds were a mess, reported 11 Alive. It appeared the teen girl had been shot to death, and her mother called the police.

According to a press release from the Peachtree City Police Department, detectives worked to quickly identify three suspects in the murder: Justus Smith, Jacobean Brown, and Yeshua Mathis. All three suspects are 18-year-old residents of Fayetteville, Georgia. They were all acquaintances of the victim, and now they have all been charged with murder.

"This was not a random act. They knew whose apartment they were at, and it was some way related to matters between these individuals," Peachtree City Police Assistant Chief Matt Myers said during a news conference, according to PEOPLE.

All three suspects are in custody at the Fayette County jail, and they appeared before a judge in court in Fayette County on Thursday, Feb. 23, reported Atlanta News First. In addition to the murder charge all three men face, Brown also received an additional charge, a misdemeanor for obstruction, with the judge explaining that he tried to flee from police.

All three suspects will remain in jail at least until their bond hearing that will take place later this month.

Madison Gesswein’s official cause of death has not yet been released, but the judge said she was shot in the head. She was a student at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville, Georgia at the time of her death. Her friends and family are now trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

"She was so young. She didn't do anyone anything to anyone." Jada Zimbabwe, who was friends with Gesswein, told Fox 5 Atlanta. "She was just really sweet. Everyone I know liked her.”