GBI Investigates Double Homicide in Smithville, GA

UPDATE - April 9, 2024

On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, GBI agents obtained arrest warrants for Marcus Dontavious Butts, age 28, of Preston, Georgia, charging him with one count each of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Home Invasion, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony in connection to the double homicide of Jessica Hatcher Thompson and her daughter, Julianna Thompson.  

Butts was identified as a suspect in the case and on Saturday, March 9, 2024, he was arrested on unrelated charges with the assistance of the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office, the Lumpkin Police Department, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. 

Butts is being held in the Lee County Jail. 

The GBI is continuing to investigate the case and is still asking that anyone with information about this case please contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Americus at 229-931-2439, the Smithville Police Department at 229-846-2203 or the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 229-759-601

ORIGINAL RELEASE

Smithville, GA (March 8, 2024) – At the request of the Smithville Police Department, GBI agents are investigating the deaths of Jessica Lynn Hatcher Thompson, age 41, and her daughter, Julianna Denise Thompson, age 17.  

The investigation shows that on Thursday March 7, 2024, the Smithville Police Department responded to a 911 call at an apartment in the 100 block of Wells Street in Smithville, Georgia. When officers arrived, they discovered Jessica Thompson and Julianna Thompson dead in the apartment.   

If anyone has information about this case, anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.