Suspect wanted in ‘targeted’ killings of 4 in Tennessee is captured after manhunt
A murder suspect wanted in connection with the “targeted” July deaths of four people in Tennessee after a baby was discovered abandoned in a person’s front yard was captured after a multi-day manhunt.
Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was taken into custody, police in Jackson, Tennessee, said Tuesday morning.
U.S. Marshals captured him after he was sighted in the area Sunday evening, police said. A shelter-in-place order was in effect, where residents were warned to lock their doors and windows, after security cameras captured Drummond armed with a rifle and wearing a camouflage jacket. Footage released by the department on Monday showed him armed with a gun, appearing to try to enter a building.
Drummond, who was last seen on July 29, was wanted on four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and gun charges in connection with the deaths of Matthew Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15. Their bodies were found on July 29 in a wooded area near Tiptonville, north of Memphis, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch.
Authorities have not said how they died or identified a possible motive.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Rausch said the killings were not a random act of violence.
“It appears, with all the information that we have, that this was a targeted incident,” he said.
The deceased were relatives of an infant who was found abandoned roughly 40 miles south of the wooded area in Tiptonville. The child was found in the front yard of a home after Drummond left the baby there and flagged people down to help, Rausch said.
He called the move “a sign of compassion.”
Officials said Friday that the child was safe and being cared for.
Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the infant’s parents, according to Danny Goodman, the district attorney for Lake and Dyer counties. Rose was the grandmother, and Braydon was the maternal uncle, he said.
A relative of the victims said that Drummond used to date a sister of Rose’s. In a Facebook post, the relative said that Drummond had been close to their family.
“He has literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids every time he has been around us up until this point,” the post said.
Drummond was previously convicted of aggravated robbery and served roughly a decade in prison. He was charged with attempted murder after his release last year and was out on bond at the time of the quadruple homicide, Goodman said.
Three people described as associates of Drummond’s have been arrested and accused of assisting him.
Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested Tanaka Brown, 29, on Friday, and Giovontie Thomas, 29, on Saturday.
Brown and Thomas, both 29, have been charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, the bureau said in a Saturday statement. Brown also faces one count of tampering with evidence.
Dearrah Sanders was also charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. She’s accused of helping him after the murders, the bureau said in a news release.
Additional details of how they allegedly assisted Drummond have not been released.