A man was charged Monday with the murder of a Telfair County woman found dead in her home last week.
A news release from the GBI says 30-year-old Jarvius Jemaine Woods has been charged with the murder of Patrice Ellis.
Ellis’ aunt Juwana Butler says they used to date.
“They were always still friends,” Butler said. “They didn’t have any animosity with each other that I knew of."
She says she's at a loss for why Woods would want to hurt her niece.
“She was a good person, didn’t bother nobody or anything,” Butler said. “She had a loving family, everybody cared for her, everybody loved her.”
Tiffany Fletcher was her cousin, but she says Ellis looked up to her like an aunt. All Fletcher wants justice for her loved one.
“I don’t care if they behind bars for life, because the type of person Patrice was, nobody didn’t have to take her life like that,” Fletcher said.
She says she went to school with Woods and never thought he would be that kind of person.
“Jarvius, look what you have done to my family,” Fletcher said. "You have torn a hole in our hearts. Nobody can fix that, Jarvius. The only thing we got to do now is pray day by day to get past this.”
Woods is currently in the Dodge County jail on unrelated charges.
Ellis was found dead by her roommate on May 15, and an autopsy found she died of a sharp force injury.
Anyone with information about the investigation should call the McRae-Helena Police Department at 229-868-2093.