Editor’s note: Yeshua Mathis, one of the three teenagers charged in the incident, was acquitted of all charges on Oct. 31, 2024. Read our updated coverage of him here.
Three teenage boys have been arrested after a 15-year-old girl was found shot to death in her bed Tuesday morning at her family’s apartment in Peachtree City, authorities announced Wednesday.
Justus Smith, Jacobean Brown and Yeshua Mathis, all 18, were taken into custody in connection with the death of Madison Gesswein, who was found by her mother at the residence with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, Peachtree City police said. Gesswein was a student at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville.
“The family is understandably very distraught,” police Assistant Chief Matt Myers said during a news conference. “Many officers and detectives worked 36 hours straight trying to bring justice, and I hope one small portion may bring them a degree of peace.”
Credit: Fayette County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fayette County Sheriff's Office
All three suspects were booked into the Fayette County Jail and are each facing a murder charge.
Officers responded to the Greens at Braelinn complex around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and found the 15-year-old dead, according to authorities. Her mother had called 911 after finding the teen unresponsive. The official cause of death will be determined by the county medical examiner, police said, but an entry to Gesswein’s head appears consistent with a gunshot wound, Myers said.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Police said they obtained her cellphone and reviewed video after the fatal shooting, which was the first in Peachtree City this year.
“Fortunately, we don’t have this type of crime in Peachtree City very often, but crime is an issue in all communities,” Myers said.
Fayette County schools are on winter break this week. In a letter, Whitewater Principal Krystin Hall wrote “we understand that this news may be difficult to process and we will have extra staff available to support our students and families when we return to school next Monday.”
About the Author
