WRIGHTSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Investigators announced Friday that they have charged a middle Georgia man with the April murder of two teens in Wrightsville.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that 22-year-old Daniel Payton Brinson of Harrison has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of 18-year-old Destiney Hope Kight of Wrightsville and 18-year-old Charles Jaylon "C.J." Garrett of East Dublin.
The teens, who were boyfriend and girlfriend, were found shot to death on April 23 by Johnson County sheriff's deputies outside a house near Wrightsville that they were planning to move to.
Investigators described Brinson as a "known associate" of Garrett but didn't say why Brinson might have killed the pair.
Brinson was already jailed in Cobb County after being arrested in Marietta on April 26 on drug charges. Brinson remained jailed without bail on Friday and no lawyer was listed for him in jail records.
Kight and Garrett were buried together April 30. Family members have expressed bewilderment about why the two were killed.
Kight's mother told WMAZ-TV that Brinson has been a friend of the family for about 10 years and often visited their home.
"We had heard rumors and his name had come up in rumors, but when I actually got confirmation that it was him, it was a shock," Tosha Newsome said. "I couldn't believe someone so close to the family could be the cause of us not having her anymore."
"We just want to know why," Newsome said. "We want to know what was so important that it took not only my child's life, but also CJ's."
GBI said it continues to investigate.