Man accused of killing 3 in rural Georgia shooting

BUENA VISTA, Ga. - A Georgia man is accused of killing his girlfriend, her brother and the woman’s granddaughter.

Jamie Leon Harris, 37, was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and one count of feticide.

Schley County sheriff’s deputies found 65-year-old Paula Kelly, her 69-year-old brother Charles Brown, and Kelly’s pregnant granddaughter, Lara Bullard, 23, shot dead just after midnight Monday morning at their rural home about 35 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Columbus.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that when deputies responded, they arrested Harris at the house he shared with Kelly, Bullard, and Brown. Harris remained jailed Tuesday in neighboring Sumter County.

Schley County Sheriff Shane Tondee told The Associated Press that Harris would be taken before a magistrate judge Tuesday, but said that judge would not be able to set bail on a murder charge. Tondee said he did not know if Harris had a lawyer yet.

Neighbors told WTVM-TV that Bullard had just posted invitations to her baby shower on social media shortly before the shooting.

"It’s just really sad. It’s heartbreaking," said Viveca Jones, a family friend. "More than anything, it makes me worry about my kids and stuff and because I grew up here and nothing like that ever happened."

__

In a previous version of this story published July 19, 2022, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Jamie Leon Harris was arrested on charges of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Lara Bullard; her grandmother, Paula Kelly; and her uncle, Charles Brown. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Harris was in a relationship with Kelly, not Bullard.