Georgia Father Kills One-Year-Old Daughter’s Mother Before and Fatally Shooting Child and Turning the Gun on Himself

A Georgia father fatally shot his 1-year-old daughter Sunday morning and then turned the gun on himself.

The tragic situation started the day before when 38-year-old Darian Javaris Bennett shot and killed Jaquari Bennett’s mother at a Covington home Saturday night. Police arrived at the house, where they discovered 38-year-old Keshawn Washington dead.

Deputies also found the baby’s grandmother suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The woman was taken to an area hospital and listed in critical condition. The grandmother told police that Bennett kidnapped Jaquari.

The mother’s other two children were found inside the home unharmed. The children are not related to Bennett. They were picked up by a member of the family on the night of the shooting, according to the Miami Herald. 

The Georgia Burea of Investigation issued an Amber Alert for the missing baby and posted on Facebook that Jaquari was last seen in Covington. The post was later updated to report that the baby did not survive the kidnapping. 

It is with great heartache that we update this #AmberAlert.

Baby Jaquari has died. The Newton County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation. https://t.co/HQlpAHDAgZ

— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) June 12, 2022

FOX 5 reports that Bennett called the authorities on Sunday morning and said he was outside a church in Riverdale with the baby. He threatened to harm Jaquari and himself before shooting the child and then himself. 

The black Honda Accord that Bennett was driving was located in a church parking lot with the door open. The car was still at the scene on Sunday morning. Riverdale officers heard the gunshots and found the victim and Bennett dead in the woods.