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Social Circle City Schools nurse arrested for inappropriate relationship with student
scms nurse
Evan Newton
Updated: Mar 22, 2024, 6:18 PM
Published: Mar 20, 2024, 7:48 PM

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. – An employee with Social Circle City Schools (SCCS) has been arrested following an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Mary Elizabeth Gaddis of a Covington address was arrested on March 18 and charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes and child molestation, both felony charges. 

Gaddis was employed as the district nurse at the middle-high school campus.

According to an arrest report from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO), the offense happened on Feb. 20. 

An incident report showed that human resources director Debra Didier contacted the NCSO on March 5 to report an “allegation of misconduct.”

A spokesperson from SCCS confirmed that they had been made aware of the incident and that Gaddis has resigned from her position with the system.

“Social Circle City Schools is aware of the recent allegations regarding an employee’s inappropriate relationship with a student, and we want to assure our community that we are cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities,” read an SCCS statement. “The staff member in question is no longer an employee of our district.

 “We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and are providing support to all individuals affected by these events. Our primary focus remains on ensuring the safety and emotional well-being of our students, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to uphold our commitment to providing a safe and positive learning environment.

 “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”

Chief of Social Circle Police Jason Guest released a statement on behalf of the Social Circle Police Department.

“We have been made aware of an active investigation into an inappropriate relationship between a faculty member and a student within the Social Circle School System.  The information we have been provided with at this point indicates that no crime was committed within our jurisdiction and therefore we will refer anyone seeking additional information to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office,” Guest said. “Should additional information be revealed during the course of their investigation or new evidence is presented that criminal behavior did occur within the city, we will immediately move forward with a joint investigation.”

Gaddis posted bond and was released on March 19 as she awaits future court dates.

Chris Bridges, Stephen Milligan and Sharon Swanepoel from The Walton Tribune contributed to this report.
Man convicted of killing wife sentenced to life without parole
Arrief McKenzie allegedly killed two different women on March 3, 2020, including his wife in Newton County
Arrief McKenzie
Arrief McKenzie (Photo courtesy of Gwinnett County Police Department)
Evan Newton
Published: Mar 25, 2025, 2:26 PM

NEWTON COUNTY – A Gwinnett County man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after murdering his wife.

Arrief McKenzie was sentenced on March 24 to life without parole plus 20 years for killing Niki McKenzie, a 51-year-old Covington woman who was married to Arrief. 

The sentencing comes one month after Arrief pled guilty to charges including malice murder, felony murder, burglary in the first degree, home invasion in the first degree, family violence aggravated assault, aggravated stalking and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. While prosecutors originally sought the death penalty for these charges, the State withdrew its intent after Arrief pled guilty and waived his right to trial by jury.

According to a press release from the Newton County District Attorney’s (DA) Office, Arrief and Niki were estranged after Arrief pled guilty to family violence battery against Niki in 2019. As part of the 2019 sentencing, Arrief was to have no contact with Niki. This caused Arrief to move away from their residence in Newton County.

Arrief then moved to Gwinnett County where he began seeing 36-year-old Jillian Myles-Waters. In the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, Arrief entered Myles-Waters’ home and allegedly stabbed her seven times while at home with her two young twin boys. Myles-Waters died from her injuries.

Soon thereafter, prosecutors claimed Arrief fled to Newton County where he ambushed Niki as she was leaving to go to work. The press release states that Arrief stabbed and cut Niki 21 times with the same knife he used earlier in the day, leading to her death at the scene.

An officer pulled over Arrief on suspicion of driving under the influence in Dunwoody. The officer reportedly saw a “large amount of blood” on Arrief’s clothes and car. After removing opened beer bottles from the vehicle, officers spotted the knife.

With the Newton County Sheriff’s Office quickly issuing warrants for Arrief’s arrest following Niki’s murder, he was taken into custody where he faced the aforementioned charges.

According to the DA’s office, the court heard from a number of witnesses including some of Niki’s family members and former co-workers. The court also got to hear from one of Arrief’s family members as well as a psychologist on his behalf.

After a full day of testimony, the life without parole plus 20 year sentence was handed down.

The charges against Arrief are pending in Gwinnett County for the murder of Myles-Waters.

“I first want to thank Niki’s family for their everlasting support of their loved one,” said Newton County District Attorney Randy McGinley via a press release. “She raised amazing children who will push forward and do great things. While this conclusion will not undo what happened, the sentence will provide some level of justice for the family. But it also sends a strong message to our community that crimes like this will lead to the most severe consequences. I also want to thank the hard work of multiple agencies working together to bringing justice to Niki’s family.”