Extradition moves forward in Forsyth County murder case
Loron Spaulding is awaiting extradition from New Jersey, moving the Forsyth County murder case a step closer to a jail booking and eventual prosecution.
The effort to bring Loron Spaulding back to Forsyth County moved forward as investigators continued building a murder case tied to the death of Diaja Benson, whose body was found near downtown Cumming earlier this year.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Spaulding, 35, of Gainesville, has been charged with malice murder in Benson’s death. Benson was 30 and from Dawsonville. She was reported missing in Dawson County on Feb. 20, 2026, and her body was discovered March 13, 2026, at about 11 a.m. near Lanier 400 Parkway in Cumming.
That discovery followed a multi-agency search involving the GBI, Cumming Police Department, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Investigators said the Cumming Police Department requested GBI help, and the case remains active and ongoing as agents continue to piece together what happened before Benson was found in the area near the city’s downtown core.
Spaulding was taken into custody in New Jersey by the U.S. Marshals Service and is being held there while awaiting extradition to Georgia. Once he is returned, he is expected to be booked into the Forsyth County Jail, a key step that would place the case squarely in the county where the body was found and where local prosecutors will eventually move it forward.
The next major hurdle is the completion of the investigation and the extradition process itself. Only after investigators finish their work will the case go to the Bell Forsyth Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. For now, the charge and detention in New Jersey mark progress, but not closure, in a case that has left families and neighbors waiting for answers.
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson said the case was a tragic loss for the community and praised deputies’ work. Authorities have asked anyone with information to contact the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland at 706-348-4866 or submit an anonymous tip through the GBI tip line.
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