19-year-old A’darius Jashawn Williams is facing a murder charge in connection with the death of Brandon Smith.
The two were teammates on the Manchester High School football team.
Smith was last seen alive on Dec. 7, 2023, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He would be reported missing two days later. Just 24 hours later, his body would tragically be found behind a home along 3rd Avenue in Manchester.
Investigators immediately suspected foul play was involved. To figure this out, the Manchester Police Department asked the GBI to help them with the investigation.
Smith was a student at Manchester High School and played on the defensive line of the school’s football team. Hi teammates, friends, and family, were devastated.
Meriwether Schools Superintendent Robert Griffin and Manchester High School Principal Suzie Neal said they were “heartbroken” by the news.
Nearly a month after Smith’s disappearance and death, 19-year-old A’darius Jashawn Williams was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and charged with the murder of Brandon Smith.
He would not be the only one going down for this murder.
2nd Person Arrested In Murder of Manchester High School Football Player Brandon Smith
A teen charged in the death of a Manchester High School football player also played for the team and starred in the state title game in the days after the killing.
Last Thursday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Qua’vion Jakwon Cooper in the Dec. 2023 shooting death of Brandon Smith. He was charged with murder as “a party to the crime.”
Investigators said that Cooper “aided and abetted” Williams, who is accused of shooting Smith after an argument.
Both Cooper and Smith played for Manchester.
The most cold-blooded part about this is that mere days after Brandon Smith was killed, he played in the state championship game for the Blue Devils at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The team played this game in Smith’s honor, according to ABC affiliate WXIA at the time.
Georgia Teen Helper Murder Football Teammate then played in the championship game in his honor. pic.twitter.com/aPOXJoxTN7
— Raphousetv (RHTV) (@raphousetv2) May 7, 2025
Cooper has been booked in Meriwether County Jail and denied bond.