Tennille man charged after 15-year-old girl killed in shooting

Sheriff Joel Cochran says 22-year-old Kermarion Markel Washington is being held at the Washington County Jail as the GBI assists with the investigation.

TENNILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A 15-year-old girl is dead and a Tennille man is facing murder charges after a Friday night shooting in Washington County.

Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran said in a Facebook post Saturday that deputies responded around 9:45 p.m. Friday to a home on Hagan Circle outside Tennille after 911 received a report that a female had been shot.

Deputies found 15-year-old LuVenya Knight of Irwinton unconscious and not breathing inside the home, according to Cochran.

Cochran said deputies and emergency personnel tried to save her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The sheriff says 22-year-old Kermarion Markel Washington of Tennille was taken into custody shortly after the shooting.

Washington is being held at the Washington County Jail pending a bond hearing in Washington County Superior Court.

Cochran said Washington is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, felony murder, malice murder, child molestation and statutory rape.

Additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues, according to Cochran.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted by the GBI.

The investigation remains active and ongoing.