Nearly six months after a deadly stabbing inside Hays State Prison, a Chattooga County grand jury has indicted two inmates on murder charges in connection with the killing.

Grand jurors returned indictments against Denarvious “Lil Baby” Kizavion Carter, 26, who is currently housed at Ware State Prison, and Evander “Jungle” Quashawn Bullock, 34, an inmate at Hays State Prison. The two men are accused in the January 26 death of fellow inmate Melvin Gay Johnson.

According to the indictments, Carter and Bullock repeatedly stabbed Johnson with a homemade bladed weapon commonly known in prison as a “shank.” Both defendants have been charged with Malice Murder, Felony Murder, and Aggravated Assault.

The indictments allege the two men “did with malice aforethought cause the death of Melvin Gay Johnson, a human being, by stabbing said victim with a bladed weapon resembling a knife, more commonly known as a shank.”

Court records do not indicate what led to the attack, where inside the prison it occurred, or whether Johnson knew either of the two defendants. Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive.

Both men were already serving prison sentences at the time of the alleged killing. Carter is serving a life sentence for a 2018 murder conviction in Coweta County. Prosecutors said he fired a 9mm handgun multiple times from a vehicle into a Newnan home, killing Aubria Foster as she lay in bed. Bullock is serving a 15-year prison sentence following an armed robbery conviction in DeKalb County.

An indictment is a formal accusation by a grand jury after determining there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed. It is not a finding of guilt. Both Carter and Bullock are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case will now proceed through Chattooga County Superior Court, where the defendants are expected to be arraigned before any trial is scheduled.