A Georgia woman was allegedly murdered by her teenage grandson inside a local church.
The alleged incident took place on Wednesday, October 29, at Smith Chapel Holiness Church in Athens, Monroe County, according to The Monroe Journal, The Independent, and WTVA.
The victim, according to Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley, was 73-year-old Ollie Hamilton, reports The Monroe Journal. Police responded to a 911 call around 5:45 p.m. local time, according to Gurley. They eventually discovered the victim in an area that linked to the church kitchen. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
The victim’s grandson, 17-year-old Jadynn Hamilton, was arrested and charged with her killing that evening after apparently confessing to the crime, according to reports.
“As the investigation progressed, evidence began to point in a specific direction. According to reports, a young man sought assistance shortly after the attack. We ended up hauling him [Jadynn] in last night, and he confessed to the crime,” Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook told the reporters, according to The Monroe Journal. The adolescent was charged with first-degree murder.
Crook described the incident as a “tragedy of the worst kind.”
“This is a tragedy of the worst kind because you’ve got a beloved church member, family member and community member killed, and you come to find out within 24 hours she was killed by another beloved family member,” according to his statement.
He continued, “If someone is unable to control their impulses and reaches that point, I don’t believe it matters who the victim is at the time. If that got them that angry, they’re going to lash out at someone, and it just happened to be his grandmother.”
Crook went on to urge the community to embrace the tragedy as a learning experience.
“Try to learn from each catastrophe. Were there signs? Were there any instances when you could say, ‘Maybe we could have given this information to the correct individuals.’ “A lot of things happen among our youth that are not often communicated,” he remarked.
Crook told The Monroe Journal that the inquiry into the event is still ongoing.
On Saturday, Nov. 1, PEOPLE contacted the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe County Coroner’s Office for comment, but received no immediate response.
Jadynn is presently being held under a $500,000 bail, according to WTVA.
