A False Paternity Test Led to Murder

We detail the tragic homicide of Maddie May Brooks, an eighteen-year-old from Glennville, Georgia, who was found beaten to death in May 2021. Burdened by her family's extreme poverty and her mother’s addiction, Maddie May supported her siblings through odd jobs and financial arrangements with older men. The investigation initially scrutinized her mother and a local pastor before focusing on Wade Davis, a shop owner and former baseball player who had a volatile relationship with the victim. Evidence revealed that Davis murdered Maddie May with a baseball bat after erroneously believing she was his biological daughter following a drunken text from the victim's mother. In 2024, Davis was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, shortly before DNA testing proved he was not actually related to her. This account highlights the devastating impact of misinformation, family dysfunction, and desperation within a small-town community.