GLENNVILLE, Ga. (WSAV) – The mother of Aureon “Shavea” Grace, a food service worker at Smith State Prison, is speaking out after investigators say inmate Jaydrekus Hart killed her Sunday morning and then killed himself.
Deshonda Hagins told WSAV she was devastated when her other daughter told her Grace was dead.
Her daughter sent News 3 a screenshot of a message from an inmate, detailing the moments up to the shooting. It appears Hart is referred to as “Jmoney”.
The text reads in part, “Jmoney asked can they get the room to themselves and they left say soon as they walk out he shot her in the head she fell of the countertop and he shot her again then shot his self.”
In one message, which the family says they deleted, an inmate wrote that Grace’s last words were “But I have children.”
“And then he shot her,” Hagins said.
After the realization set in, Hagins said, “I just started screamingandpanicking.I didn’t wait for nobody else to call, because I just wanted to go and put eyes on my child, so I went to the prison.”
In a statement, the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) confirms this, adding that the family was on the scene for seven hours:
“We understand an inmate called an immediate family member using a contraband cell phone immediately after the incident occurred, prior to our staff having the opportunity to assess the scene and determine what had transpired. The family arrived at the facility before we could contact them, and at that time, GDC leadership was responding to the scene and advised the family their loved one was deceased but did not have any other details. The call from the contraband cell phone was premature, as the facility staff was working on determining details in order to accurately communicate to the family.
“GDC’s Director of Professional Standards was on the phone with the Assistant Director and assisted in providing real-time updates. The family was escorted to a private area of the facility where they were on scene for approximately seven hours and were continually updated as investigators and facility staff were able to determine other details.
“The family then requested to have GDC Special Agents come to their home and provide updates. Two Special Agents arrived at the home to provide the information that was known at the time. The family provided information to our Agents as well.”
A spokesperson with the GDC says Hart and Grace had a “personal relationship.”
Hagins admits her daughter was a caring and nice person, and she may have made the mistake of being “nice” to this inmate, but she says this should have never happened and the system failed Grace.
“There is no way there should be an inmate with a handgun.They’re saying all of these things about my daughter.Do they even know? Nobody knows the real story because she’s not here to tell it,” Hagins said.
Hagins describes her daughter as a caring, hard-working young woman, adding that she was someone who will go out of her way to show kindness to anyone.
But her mother worried for her kind heart.
“I used to always tell her, ‘You can’t let everybody get close to you, because when they see that you have a kind of heart and you will help anybody, they’ll take advantage of it,'” the mother said. “Regardless of anything, she was a mother. She loved her kids. She was a daughter. She was a sister.She has family. She had a heart. She wasn’t a bad person. Who hasn’t made bad decisions? That don’t mean you deserve to die.”
Now, Hagins is asking for answers.
“Why didn’t they protect her? Why? They need to put things in place and make sure the prisons are being ran correctly so that no other mother has to go through this,” she said.
When asked about the contraband issues, a GDC spokesperson sent this statement:
“Accusations that the GDC has not been ‘cracking down’ on contraband are grossly inaccurate. The battle against contraband is daily, and occurs across all GDC facilities, not just Smith SP.Full facility shakedowns, K-9 shakedowns, and quick-strikes, are conducted on an ongoing basis.
At Smith SP during CY23, a total of 1,509 weapons, 694 cell phones, 854 chargers, 7.55 kilos of marijuana, and 12.53 kilos of tobacco were removed from the facility.Additionally, since May 23, 2023, there have been shakedowns conducted at Smith SP by our specialty teams, and shakedowns are conducted regularly by the facility as well:
• 18 K9-led dorm searches
• 6 full facility shakedowns
• 2 quick-strikes
Hagins is left with Grace’s home, which she says was destroyed when GDC investigators allegedly searched it the day after her death. News 3 requested comment from the GDC regarding this claim — we are waiting to hear back.
“They destroyed my daughter’s house. They took trash out of the dumpster in her apartment complex. All my grandchildren’s stuff was in there, and they opened those trash bags, left all food, trash, dirty diapers, all this stuff in my daughter’s home,” Hagins said.
News 3 reached out to Gov. Brian Kemp’s office for comment on this incident. A spokesperson sent this statement:
“Appreciate you reaching out with this request, however we are unable to provide comment as there is an active and ongoing investigation into this matter.”
