PEARSON, Ga. — Four teenagers and one adult have been arrested, and now all face murder charges after they allegedly beat a 16-year-old boy to death in a small south Georgia town.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that 16-year-old Darion Davis, from Pearson, Georgia, died from his injuries several days after he was allegedly beaten to death by a pipe in a fight with several people that was all caught on video.
Those involved in the fight were 17-year-old Verntron White, 21-year-old Ta'shunika Jones, a 14-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old. The 15-year-old suspect was charged with malice murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. The other four suspects were charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. All suspects are from Pearson, Georgia.
The town of Pearson, which is in Atkinson County, is a small south Georgia city with roughly 1,800 people, according to census data from 2022. It is about 154 miles southwest of the coastal Georgia city of Savannah.
The Atkinson County Sheriff's Office requested the help of the GBI after deputies learned about a teen who had died from his injuries at a Savannah hospital following an alleged assault that happened on Oct. 12, 2024.
Agents with the GBI discovered during the investigation that there was a video of the fight in which the suspects were beating Davis. During the fight, the 15-year-old suspect grabbed a pipe and hit Davis multiple times.
Davis died at the hospital in Savannah a few days later, the GBI said.
White and Jones were booked into the Atkinson County Jail. The minors are currently in the custody of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
The GBI medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death for Jones.
Anyone with information regarding the deadly assault is asked to call the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 422-3611 or the GBI’s regional investigative office in Douglas at (912) 389-4103. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477) or online here.
