Sixteen-year-old Jamarious Deante Smith was killed on June 29, 2023, after leaving his Hampton, Georgia, home with a group of acquaintances his mother had warned him about. A male with autism, Jamarious disappeared that evening; his body was found later that day in Lovejoy Park in Clayton County with multiple gunshot wounds to his neck, head, and arm. His mother said police came to her home at 12:30 a.m. the following day to notify her, and she remembered that he had been looking forward to becoming a father.

The investigation identified three adolescents now in custody. Eighteen-year-old Kwame McGinty was arrested June 30, 2023, and charged with murder. Seventeen-year-old Alex Hampton was arrested October 30, 2023, and also charged with murder. A third suspect, identified as Oliver Choyce, was 15 at the time of the shooting; after a manhunt he surrendered on March 25, 2024, and faces felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Jamarious’s mother was told all three suspects were in custody.

Does anyone have information about Jamarious, his movements that night, or the people he was with that could help clarify what happened?