Briuna Hartry was just a month away from holding her new baby girl. She had spent Thursday smiling and laughing at a surprise baby shower thrown by her co-workers at The Cook Building. She even posted on Facebook to thank everyone, saying her little girl was already so loved. But by Friday morning, that joy turned into an unimaginable nightmare.
The 31-year-old mother never showed up for her shift the next day. Her worried colleagues called the police to check on her when she missed work. When officers arrived at her home on North Richmond Street around 10:15 a.m., no one answered the door. They knocked loudly and banged on the windows, hoping she had just overslept.
Officers finally went inside the house to see what was wrong. They walked into a bedroom and found a heartbreaking scene. Briuna and her unborn child were already dead. She had been shot multiple times.
Next to her was the body of 33-year-old Jajuan Taylor, the father of her unborn child. Police say Taylor shot Briuna and her baby girl before turning the gun on himself. A handgun was found right next to his body.
Investigators believe the shooting happened sometime between midnight and 8:00 a.m. on Friday. Thankfully, Briuna’s older son was not at the house when the shooting took place. He is safe, but he now has to grow up without his mother and little sister.
Neighbors in the quiet community are struggling to process the heavy news. Many people live in rental homes here and usually keep to themselves. Across the street, Teresa Scott watched the police arrive and remembers hoping for the best before learning the tragic truth.
Local detectives and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab are still looking into the case. They are performing autopsies in Macon to get more clear answers. For now, a family is left grieving a mother and a baby girl who never got the chance to live.
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