Authorities say an argument erupted as Jacob Brady and his wife were moving into a home offered to them by 37-year-old Joshua Addison.

DALLAS, Ga. — A Paulding County man who agreed to let a struggling couple live in his home without paying rent was fatally stabbed as they were moving in, and the man he was trying to help was arrested, according to authorities and local news reports. Joshua Michael Addison, 37, was found badly wounded inside his home on Amsterdam Way on the night of July 19. Investigators identified Jacob B. Brady, also 37, as the man accused in the attack. Addison was taken to a hospital, where he died. Brady was detained at the scene and later faced charges tied to the killing.

The case began as what Addison’s relatives described as an attempt to help Brady and his wife through a difficult period. Family members said Brady had recently been released from jail and the couple needed somewhere to stay. Addison offered his home as a temporary solution and did not plan to charge them rent while they worked toward a more permanent arrangement. That background has become central to how Addison’s family remembers the killing: a violent end to an act of assistance from a man they described as unusually willing to make room for people who needed help.

Deputies were dispatched at about 9:43 p.m. July 19 to the 300 block of Amsterdam Way in the Windmill Creek area after a report that CPR was in progress, according to reporting based on information from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. The call was updated while deputies were responding to indicate that a stabbing may have occurred. When officers reached the property, they encountered a man covered in blood on the back porch. Deputies ordered him away from the porch and detained him before entering the residence. Inside, authorities found Addison with multiple stab wounds. Firefighters and emergency medical crews transported him to a hospital, where he later died.

Investigators said Brady and his wife had been in the process of moving their belongings into Addison’s house that day. The three were expected to share the residence, according to FOX 5 Atlanta’s account of information provided by the Sheriff’s Office. Authorities said a verbal disagreement developed between Addison and Brady and then became violent. Publicly released accounts have not explained what the argument was about, how long it lasted or what happened immediately before the stabbing. No independently verified motive has been announced, and the available reports do not establish why an arrangement intended to provide temporary housing broke down so quickly.

Brady’s wife played a key role in summoning help. Authorities said she found Addison after the attack, called 911 and stayed with him until emergency personnel arrived. Law&Crime, citing a recording obtained by Atlanta television station WXIA, reported that she told a dispatcher, “My husband attacked him with a knife.” The available reporting does not identify Brady’s wife, and authorities have not publicly accused her of participating in the attack. Investigators have also released few details about what she may have witnessed before discovering Addison or whether she had been present for the argument between the two men.

The public record of Brady’s charges developed as the investigation progressed. An account published July 22 and attributed to the Sheriff’s Office listed aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a cruelty-to-children count. Later reporting from Law&Crime and FOX 5 Atlanta said Brady also faced a murder charge in Addison’s death. The differing reports appear to reflect information released at different stages of the case, but publicly accessible material reviewed for this report does not provide a complete charging document showing the full current count list. Law&Crime reported that Brady was being held in the Paulding County Jail without bond and that a next court date was not immediately available.

Georgia law defines aggravated assault to include an assault committed with a deadly weapon or another object likely to cause serious bodily injury. State law separately defines murder in several ways, including unlawfully causing another person’s death with malice or causing a death during the commission of certain felonies. A criminal charge is an accusation, not a finding that a defendant committed the offense. The evidence against Brady would have to be tested through the court process, and the publicly available reports reviewed for this story did not identify a plea, indictment, trial date or final adjudication in the case.

The child-cruelty entry appearing in an earlier account adds another unresolved issue. Georgia law provides for third-degree cruelty to children when, under specified circumstances, a person who is the primary aggressor intentionally allows a child to witness a forcible felony, battery or family-violence battery, or commits such an act knowing that a child is present and sees or hears it. The report listing the charge did not identify a child, describe where a child was during the incident or explain the factual basis for the count. Later summaries focused on the murder and aggravated-assault allegations without clarifying whether the child-related charge remained pending.

As investigators worked through those questions, Addison’s family described the housing offer as consistent with his character. His mother, Ann Gazell, told WXIA that her son’s “heart was for those that didn’t have anything” and said he would give what he could to care for other people even when he did not have much himself. A family-authorized fundraiser similarly described him as loving, caring and kind and said he opened his home to people and animals in need. The fundraiser said Addison had a teenage daughter and that money collected after his death would help with funeral expenses, repairs to his home and his daughter’s future college needs.

An obituary published by Marietta Funeral Home & Crematory gives a broader picture of Addison’s life beyond the circumstances of his death. It says he was born July 30, 1988, and lived in Dallas. His survivors include his daughter, parents, stepfather, former spouse and a large group of siblings and other relatives. The obituary said Addison took pride in work as a meat cutter, particularly deer processing, and valued both the skill involved and the people he met through that work. It also described a love of family, friends and animals. A visitation and funeral service were held July 28 at Woodstock City Church, with interment planned privately.

The loss also reopened earlier grief within Addison’s family. His mother told local media that Addison was the third of her children to die, after one child died shortly after birth and a daughter died of cancer at age 24. She also recalled a lighter side of the family, including pranks Addison and his brother played on their sister while growing up. Those memories stand apart from the police narrative surrounding his death and help explain why relatives have focused as much on the generosity behind the housing offer as on the violence that ended it. The fundraiser organized for the family said Addison was a passionate creator and especially enjoyed photography.

A neighbor, Darrell Westveer, told FOX 5 Atlanta that the heavy police and emergency response came as a shock in the residential neighborhood. He recalled seeing numerous police vehicles, firefighters and an ambulance arrive and said the violence felt unusually close to home. Authorities have not publicly released a fuller account of what caused the argument, and no publicly available court record reviewed for this report establishes a motive or resolves the discrepancies among the early charge reports. Brady remained accused, not convicted, in the latest reliable coverage located for this story.

The investigation into Addison’s death was described as ongoing in the initial reports. As of Aug. 27, publicly available reporting reviewed for this article did not provide a later court date, plea or disposition for Brady. The central facts remain that Addison offered temporary, rent-free housing to Brady and his wife, an argument erupted during the move-in, Addison was fatally wounded, and Brady was arrested at the scene. Further details about the dispute, the complete current charge list and the next stage of the prosecution had not been publicly confirmed.

Author note: Last updated Aug. 27, 2026.