CUMMING, Ga. — A Gainesville man has been arrested and charged with malice murder in connection with the death of a Dawsonville woman whose body was found last month in Forsyth County.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said 35-year-old Loron Spaulding is accused in the death of 30-year-old Diaja Benson.
Authorities discovered Benson’s body around 11 a.m. on Friday, March 13, near Lanier 400 Parkway in Cumming. Investigators later confirmed her identity. Benson had been reported missing in Dawson County on February 14, according to the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the Cumming Police Department, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
home in Dawson County on February 14, 2026. (Dawson County Sheriff’s Office)
Spaulding was taken into custody in New Jersey by the U.S. Marshals Service. He remains jailed there and is awaiting extradition to Georgia, where he will be booked into the Forsyth County Jail, the GBI said.
“Another tragic loss in our community reminds us just how fragile life is. I’m proud of the hard work our deputies put in as they worked to find Diaja and bring her killer to justice,” said Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson.
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland at 706-348-4866. Anonymous tips may also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS, online, or through the See Something, Send Something app.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
