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Three teenagers and an adult have been charged with murder in Georgia after a mother found her 15-year-old son shot to death inside an abandoned residence following Halloween night.
The Albany Police Department said investigators arrested 22-year-old Detravion Parke, as well as two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old in connection with the death of Austin Payne, 15.
All four suspects were charged with murder and transported to the Dougherty County Jail, according to police.
Officers responded to the 800 block of Cameo Lane in Albany on Nov. 1, where they discovered Payne dead inside an abandoned home, police said. His mother found him by tracking his location via cellphone after he failed to return home on Halloween, according to WALB.
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Albany Police Chief Michael Persley said during a Nov. 2 news conference that Payne had contacted his mother after being shot.
“He did make a call to his mother that he had been shot,” Persley said.
According to WALB, investigators reviewed surveillance footage, cellphone records and witness statements to reconstruct the events leading up to Payne’s death.
Witnesses told investigators that armed individuals approached a group walking with Payne, demanded their belongings and opened fire, the outlet reported.
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Payne may have been targeted during an attempted robbery involving a handgun he had recently displayed on social media, according to WALB.
Payne’s family has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses following his death.
A relative said Payne would have turned 16 on Nov. 12.
“Our family is trying to process this heartbreaking loss,” the relative wrote.
The fundraiser also noted that Payne is survived by his mother and 17-year-old sister.
The Albany Police Department is asking anyone with additional information about the shooting to contact investigators at 229-431-2100.
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