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Dad of teen charged with murder of Peachtree City 15-year-old was killed just 11 days before

The investigation ties together the murder of a 15-year-old girl and 38-year-old man, a homicide suspect's father.

In an unexpected turn of events, two separate metro Atlanta murder investigations that happened just 11 days apart from each other are now tied together.

Jacobean Brown, 18, who is charged with murder in the killing of 15-year-old Madison Gesswein in Peachtree City Tuesday, is the son of 38-year-old Bryan Brown, who was found shot and killed in South Fulton on Feb. 10.

RELATED: 'He was lured there' | Family suspicious of man's death after he was shot, killed outside South Fulton bank

Alicia George, who's been friends with Brown for two decades and seen Jacobean grow into a young man, said she still can't believe it.

"Never, never in a million years, never," George explained. "This is a guy, you know I’ve been around him all his life, his dad’s best friend of 25 years so I watched him grow." 

Peachtree City Police announced on Wednesday that Jacobean is one of three 18-year-olds charged with murder in the shooting death of Gesswein. 

Police said her mother found her dead in her bedroom Tuesday around 6 a.m. inside their apartment at The Greens at Braelinn complex on Peachtree Station Circle. 

RELATED: 'There's a lot of blood' | Mother's 911 call describes moments after Peachtree City 15-year-old found dead

George told 11Alive she just saw Jacobean on Sunday at the home his dad shared with his husband. She said nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 

"Nothing, we were all outside sitting on the porch. We were sharing memories about Bryon. And we were looking forward to getting together this Saturday (Feb. 25) to have a memorial service for Bryan [Brown] here in Blakely (Georgia)," George said.

Brown is from Blakely, Ga., where he went to school at Early High School. He and his husband were in the process of opening their second location for their photography studio. 

However, Brown would never get the chance to see its grand opening. South Fulton Police said Brown was found shot to death inside his car outside the Wells Fargo off Old National Highway along Old Bill Cook Road on the morning of Feb. 10.

Brown's homicide remains unsolved.

Credit: Provided
On the left, Jacobean Brown, accused of murdering of a 15-year-old. On the right, his father Bryan, who was shot and killed just 11 days ago.

"We're still waiting on answers, hoping and praying somebody can tell us or help us with information and then for this to happen, it’s like you get knocked 10 steps backward," George said. 

She's referring to Brown's son being arrested just 11 days after his father's killing, accused of killing a teenage girl -- an accusation that's shocked everyone and has left some with many more questions than answers. 

11Alive confirmed that Jacobean lived with the 15-year-old girl and her family in Peachtree City for an unknown amount of time after his dad, Brown, made the tough decision to make him get out of his house after dealing with some behavioral issues. 

It's the only tie 11Alive has been able to confirm the three suspects to the 15-year-old victim. Jacobean was not living at the apartment at the time of the homicide.

11Alive's Cody Alcorn asked George if there was any possibility they thought Jacobean could have anything to do with this father's homicide.

"No, we're honestly praying that there wasn't any connection related to Bryan's death," George said.

As of Wednesday night, police have not indicated any connection between Jacobean and his father's killing.

George said she and Brown's family extend their condolences to Gesswein's family and friends as they, too, know what it's like to lose a loved one so violently and unexpectedly.

There is a $4,000 reward being offered by Crime Stoppers and Brown's family for any information that lead to an arrest in his death. If you know anything about this shooting, call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at (404) 577-8477.

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