A Georgia man who was arrested late last month in Marietta on drug charges has now been charged with the murders of two teenagers in Johnson County.

Daniel Payton Brinson, 22, of Harrison, was charged Wednesday with two counts of malice murder, the GBI announced. Brinson is being held in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center following his April 26 arrest on multiple drug charges. He remains there without bond, online records show.

The murder charges stem from the shootings of Destiney Hope Knight and Charlie Jaylon Garrett, both 18, who were found near an intersection in Wrightsville, the GBI said. The address where the bodies were discovered is a rural spot with no buildings in sight. Wrightsville is located about 60 miles east of Macon and about 150 miles southeast of Atlanta.

The bodies of Knight and Garrett were found just after 1 p.m. on April 23, but few details have been released about the circumstances around their deaths.

Brinson faces three felony drug counts in Cobb, according to jail records. He also has holds from law enforcement agencies in Johnson, Laurens and Washington counties.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.

About the Author

Keep Reading

(2023 file photo) Fort Gordon, near Augusta, Georgia, was renamed as Fort Eisenhower in 2023. Could it be switched back to Fort Gordon? (Hyosub Shin/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Featured

State Rep. Kimberly New, R-Villa Rica, stands in the House of Representatives during Crossover Day at the Capitol in Atlanta on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC