PRESS RELEASE – Detectives with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office partner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate what is being ruled a homicide in southern Paulding County.

On January 11, 2024 at approximately 3:40 PM, Paulding E-911 was contacted by one of the neighbors of Riverbend Trail, which is inside the Emerald Point Subdivision.

The neighbor indicated that he found who he thought was the resident of 158 Riverbend Trail Douglasville, GA 30134 unresponsive at the home.

When Deputies responded to the home, they located what was later determined to be the male resident of the home, Charvis Terrence Baulding (B/M, 30 YOA), deceased as a result of gunshot wounds.

After clearing the home and finding no one there, the residence was cordoned off and declared a crime scene.

Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division of the Sheriff’s Office immediately responded to the scene and GBI Agents arrived later that evening.

Detectives, Agents, and Crime Scene Investigators processed the scene and spoke to neighbors and family members who had arrived after the incident took place.

As a result of the preliminary findings from the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office during the autopsy, combined with other forensic aspects of the investigation, Baulding’s death is being investigated as a homicide.

The official autopsy report is pending as they typically take quite some time to complete by the forensic pathologists at the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office.

Detectives and Agents want to make sure the community is aware that there is no indication that residents of this neighborhood or surrounding areas are, or ever were, in any immediate danger.

However, we do want to encourage everyone to always remain alert and aware of their surroundings.

Please feel free to report any suspicious activity to 911.

Sheriff Gary Gulledge stated, “This is a very complex case. We have taken an enormous amount of time to ensure that no stone has been left unturned in this investigation. I know it may seem like we may not be working as quickly as the family may want, but we are working diligently in conjunction with the GBI to ensure we find out who killed Charvis Baulding. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his grieving family.”

As this investigation progresses, Detectives and Agents want to encourage anyone who may have information about this case to call the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Anonymous Tip Line at (770) 443-3047 or send a message via the Paulding Sheriff mobile app. #PauldingSheriff #GBI #WorkingTogether