Jonathan Barrett

VALDOSTA — A Valdosta man has been arrested in connection with the death of a teen girl whose body was found Wednesday in the back yard of a Bunche Street residence.

Valdosta Police Lt. Bobbi McGraw said Jonathan Barrett, 21, is charged with the murder of 17-year-old Brittany Wade.

Wade’s body was discovered in a shallow grave at 1029 Bunche St., where the suspect’s aunt resides.

The victim did not live at the residence.

Barrett was apprehended within hours of the discovery of Wade’s body. He was charged with murder and transported to Lowndes County Jail after Valdosta police and detectives questioned him Wednesday evening.

McGraw said that Wade’s body has been sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy.

At this time, the cause of death is not known; however, the victim did have trauma to her body, McGraw said. It appears that the victim died the night before her body was discovered.

The exact time of death will be determined after the autopsy report returns.

Barrett was a former acquaintance of the victim. He is also the father of Wade’s two children.

Wade’s death was the fourth murder in Valdosta this year — all worked within the past two months.