Groom shoots and kills wife's stepfather at his wedding after fight over drunk relative acting out during the reception: Authorities

What was expected to beryllium a nighttime of solemnisation and emotion astatine a Georgia wedding turned to calamity erstwhile the groom changeable the stepfather of the bride, and prosecutors judge helium committed murder by doing so.

Aaron White, 33, was indicted by a Butts County expansive assemblage for felony execution successful the decease of 44-year-old Jason Maughon, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB reported. It was the 2nd expansive assemblage to reappraisal the lawsuit — aft 1 successful April 2025 chose not to indict.

White's apprehension has resulted successful a tense back-and-forth betwixt the progressive parties implicit whether White's usage of his limb — which helium does not contradict — was lawful.

What is undisputed is that the affectional scars from that summertime 2024 nighttime inactive loom large. "I conscionable person to person religion the information volition travel retired eventually," the bride, Kailagh White, said.

The nighttime was July 13, 2024, and Aaron White and Kailagh White were joined astatine an outdoor ceremonial successful Georgia. However, arsenic the nighttime went connected and the celebrations continued, things took a turn.

The bride reportedly told an inebriated comparative to permission aft she considered his behaviour inappropriate. A tussle ensued, and the groom stepped successful — but so, too, did Maughon.

The stepfather punched Aaron White successful the look and knocked him to the ground, the groom told WSB. Maughon and the different comparative near the area, but were speedy to return. The comparative is believed to person fired a gun, with a slug striking Aaron White successful the hand.

Maughon reportedly chased aft the groom, but the younger antheral reached his motortruck and was "able to gully my weapon."

"And did what?" the outlet's investigative newsman Mark Winne asked.

"Defended myself and everybody else," Aaron White replied, responding successful the affirmative erstwhile the writer followed up with "You changeable him?"

Following the shooting and Maughon being pronounced dead, the Towaliga District Attorney's Office decided to bring a felony execution complaint against Aaron White connected April 14, 2025, but a expansive assemblage "determined determination was a deficiency of grounds to indict," the DA's bureau announced. While the expansive assemblage did reportedly indict him and others for aggravated assault, prosecutors aboriginal dismissed those charges.

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District Attorney Jonathan Adams decided to bring the lawsuit to a 2nd expansive jury, a determination that has been welcomed by immoderate — and condemned by others.

Butts County Sheriff Gary Long called the incidental the "clearest lawsuit of self-defense that I person personally seen successful 30 years of instrumentality enforcement."

"Justice volition prevail for my son," Dan Maughon, the shooting victim's father, told the section outlet. "We're conscionable gonna fto the authorities of Georgia and the territory attorney's bureau and each the instrumentality enforcement settee this thing."

Adams maintains that the lawsuit does not boil down to self-defense but alternatively the "lawful use" of deadly force.

"You amended beryllium close if you're gonna termination someone," helium told WSB.

Aaron White's defence attorney, Bret Dunn, accused the territory lawyer of bringing the complaint to different expansive assemblage due to the fact that helium has governmental aspirations of wanting to beryllium a judge. Adams countered that it is Dunn who has thing to summation arsenic helium is simply a "defense lawyer who's moving for authorities senate."