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.
A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl inside her family’s Peachtree City apartment last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Jacobean Brown and two other suspects, who were all 18 at the time, are accused of taking cleaning supplies and a 9mm pistol with an extended magazine to the Greens at Braelinn apartment complex, where Whitewater High School student Madison Gesswein lived with her family, according to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
“As (Gesswein) lay on her bed with her cellphone, Jacobean Brown snuck in through the bedroom window and shot the victim in the head with that pistol, causing her death,” prosecutors said.
Peachtree City police responded to the complex on Feb. 21, 2023, after Gesswein’s mother found the teenager’s body and called 911, according to authorities. Gesswein and the suspects had gotten into an argument over text messages a day earlier, the DA’s office said. The shooting was the first in Peachtree City last year, police noted.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“Fortunately, we don’t have this type of crime in Peachtree City very often, but crime is an issue in all communities,” police Assistant Chief Matt Myers said at the time.
Following an investigation, officers arrested Brown and the two other suspects, Justus Smith and Yeshua Mathis. They were all booked into the Fayette County Jail on several charges, including murder.
On July 12, following a week-long trial, Brown was convicted by a Fayette County jury on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the DA’s office said. Judge W. Fletcher Sams sentenced him to life in prison without parole, plus six years, according to prosecutors.
Credit: Fayette County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fayette County Sheriff's Office
“Violence by young people is a growing concern across the state,” DA Maria Broder said. “My office is committed to the fight against violence in our communities, no matter the age of the offender. I am grateful to my team and our law enforcement partners for their work on this case, and to the jury for their pursuit of the truth and justice for the victim.”
Peachtree City police investigated the case, with help from the GBI. Both Smith and Mathis have a trial date scheduled for Sept. 9, according to court records.
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