Mom of Slain Prison Worker Told of Death by Convict Using Contraband Phone

The mother of a worker at a Georgia state prison reportedly learned an inmate had killed her daughter after another convict called the mom using a contraband phone.

Food company Aramark worker Aureon Grace, 24, was at Smith State Prison’s kitchen June 16 when inmate Jaydrekus Hart fatally shot her, according to a statement from the Georgia Corrections Department, the Independent reported.

Hart then shot himself and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Grace’s mother, Deshonda Hagins, had posted on social media that she discovered the horrific news in a call from a prison inmate.

“The inmates were going through her social media and trying to find someone related to her,” Hagins said, Fox 5 reported.

She also accused the prison of not doing enough to protect her daughter in the first place, 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.”

It’s unclear how Hart obtained the gun; the Independent reported the corrections department said it has the weapon and plans a “complete and thorough investigation.”

“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?” Hagins asked, WOTC reported.

She told the outlet her daughter leaves 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,” Haggis said, adding: “She would work 11 days straight, 14 days straight, just to make money to make sure she could provide” for her children.

The department confirmed 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,” WTCO reported.

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

1157930