Twenty-year-old Jada Franese’ Simmons was killed in the early morning hours of May 16, 2021. A young mother from Milledgeville, Georgia, she was at a large house party on Nitrogen Road in Gordon when she suffered a fatal gunshot wound; the coroner ruled her death a homicide.

The Jones County Sheriff’s Office initially had few leads and urged partygoers to come forward. After tips from the public, investigators identified 26-year-old Jeremy Butts of Milledgeville as an alleged shooter. U.S. Marshals located and arrested Butts in El Paso, Texas, where he had previously served in the military. Hours after that arrest, his sister Sierra Butts turned herself in and was charged with hindering apprehension of a criminal, accused of driving her brother to the airport shortly after the shooting.

Extradition to Jones County was expected for Jeremy Butts to face charges in connection with Simmons’s death. If anyone attended the party or has information about what happened that night, please come forward.