Ashton Vachan Bonner, 20, was found shot to death in a hotel room at the LaQuinta Inn in Braselton, Georgia, on July 7, 2024. A former Heard County High School running back who was his team’s senior-year MVP, Bonner had continued his football career at Central Methodist University in Missouri.

Authorities arrested Qualiss Jermaine Simmons Jr., 21, of Montgomery, Alabama, in connection with the fatal shooting; he faces several charges including murder. The circumstances that led to the shooting in the hotel room have not been publicly detailed.

Friends, family and his high school community mourned Bonner as energetic, curious and happy; a celebration of his life was held July 13, 2024, at the Heard County GPAC. Does anyone have information about Bonner’s final hours or the events at the hotel that night?