Following a multi-day manhunt, a murder suspect was apprehended in connection with the “targeted” July deaths of four individuals in Tennessee after a baby was found abandoned in a person’s front yard.
Police in Jackson, Tennessee, announced Tuesday morning that Austin Robert Drummond, 28, had been placed under arrest.
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He was seen in the vicinity Sunday evening and taken into custody by U.S. Marshals, according to authorities. After security cameras saw Drummond with a gun and a camouflage jacket, homeowners were advised to lock their doors and windows and a shelter-in-place order was put into force. He appeared to attempt to enter a building while brandishing a gun in footage that the department made public on Monday.
In relation to the killings of Matthew Wilson, 21, Adrianna Williams, 20, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15, Drummond was wanted on four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and weapons charges. He was last seen on July 29. David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said their remains were discovered on July 29 in a wooded region north of Memphis, close to Tiptonville.
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The cause of death and potential motive have not been disclosed by the authorities.
Rausch told reporters Friday that the murders were not an isolated violent incident.
With all we know, it seems like this was a targeted incident, he added.
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The fatalities were family members of a baby discovered abandoned in Tiptonville, some 40 miles south of the wooded region. Drummond left the infant in the front yard of a house and called for assistance, which led to the discovery of the child, according to Rausch.
The action, he said, was “a sign of compassion.”
The infant was safe and receiving care, according to officials on Friday.
Danny Goodman, the district attorney for Lake and Dyer counties, said the baby’s parents were Wilson and Adrianna Williams. According to him, Braydon was the maternal uncle and Rose was the grandmother.
According to a victim’s relative, Drummond once dated Rose’s sister. The relative said that Drummond had been close to their family in a Facebook post.
“Every time he has been around us up to this point, he has been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids,” the message stated.
Drummond previously served about ten years in jail after being found guilty of violent robbery. He was out on bond at the time of the quadruple killing and was charged with attempted murder upon his release last year, according to Goodman.
Three individuals identified as Drummond’s acquaintances have been detained on suspicion of aiding him.
Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovontie Thomas, 29, were taken into custody by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
According to a statement released by the bureau on Saturday, Brown and Thomas, both 29, have been charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.Brown is also charged with one count of evidence tampering.
Dearrah Sanders was also accused of first-degree murder accessory after the fact. According to a news release from the agency, she is accused of assisting him following the killings.
No further information has been made public regarding their claimed assistance to Drummond.
