Family of Georgia worker killed in prison breaks silence after learning of death from inmates with smuggled phones

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The mother of a prison worker at Georgia’s Smith State Prison discovered an inmate killed her daughter after another convict called her using a contraband phone.

Aramark employee Aureon Grace, 24, was working in the prison’s kitchen on June 16 when inmate Jaydrekus Hart fatally shot her, according to a statement from the Georgia Corrections Department. He then shot himself and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Grace’s mother, Deshonda Hagins, had posted on social media that she discovered the tragic news by a call from inmates.

“The inmates were going through her social media and trying to find someone related to her,” Hagins said, according to Fox5.

She accused the prison of not doing enough to protect Grace, telling TV station WTOC: “They failed her. You failed her.”

“My child is dead and it’s no explanation for a firearm to be inside of a prison,” she continued.

It’s not immediately clear how Hart obtained the gun. The corrections department said it now has custody of the weapon and plans to execute a “complete and thorough investigation” to determine the events leading up to the tragedy.

“Why didn’t they search him when he left his dorm, why didn’t they search him before he came into the cafeteria? Why was none of those things done?” she added.

Hagins spoke highly of her daughter, who left behind a four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.

“She was a sister, she was a daughter, she was a mother. She was loved,” the grieving mother told the outlet.

Grace worked for her kids, Hagins said: “She would work 11 days straight, 14 days straight, just to make money to make sure she could provide for her kids.”

“She still didn’t deserve to die. She still didn’t deserve to leave her two children. Nobody deserves that. I don’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Hagins said.

The department confirmed to WTOC that another inmate used “a contraband cell phone” to call one of Grace’s immediate family members, adding that the call “was premature, as the facility staff was working on determining details in order to accurately communicate to the family.”

Hart was serving 20 years for voluntary manslaughter with a maximum release date of June 2043, the corrections department said.