On April 7, 2025, at about 12:55 p.m., the Screven County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 report of a shooting on Simpson Town Road in Newington, Georgia. Deputies found 22-year-old Isaiah Barbee Jr. suffering from a gunshot wound; he was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in and an autopsy was scheduled at the GBI Crime Lab in Pooler to determine the precise cause of death.

Isaiah, a Sylvania resident, was a father to a two-year-old son and in a three-year relationship with his girlfriend. Described as hardworking and passionate, he enjoyed family gatherings, basketball and video games; his death has left his parents, siblings and grandparents grieving.

Investigators identified Demarion Butler as the suspect. After a month-long search, law enforcement apprehended Butler on May 7, 2025, and he was jailed and charged with Isaiah’s murder; the file is to be turned over to the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. What led to the shooting remains under investigation.

If anyone has information that could help investigators, please come forward.