As the weeklong manhunt for the suspect in the killings of four relatives of a baby found abandoned in Tennessee came to an end on Tuesday, police revealed the suspect’s girlfriend is related to the victims.Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was arrested Tuesday morning in a wooded area in Jackson after multiple people reported sightings of him, according to Police Chief Thom Corley.The bodies of James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15, were found July 29 in Tiptonville, a town in northwest Tennessee’s Lake County. The baby daughter of Wilson and Adrianna Williams had been found abandoned in a car seat near the Dyer County community of Tigrett, about 40 miles northwest of Jackson.The girlfriend of Drummond – a convicted felon with alleged ties to a violent street gang who was out on bail on an attempted murder charge relating to the time he spent in prison – was also the sister of Rose, Danny Goodman, district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties, confirmed to CNN.Authorities have not disclosed any motive in the killings or why the baby was abandoned a county away from where the bodies were found.Here’s what we know about the case so far and what’s still unclear:Suspect’s girlfriend was related to victimsAt the news conference Tuesday, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said the suspect’s girlfriend was related to the victims.Goodman later confirmed to CNN Drummond’s girlfriend and Rose were sisters.Rose’s sister was a corrections officer at Northwest Correctional Complex at the time Drummond was incarcerated there, WHBQ reported, citing the Tennessee Department of Corrections.Photos on social media show the pair together after Drummond was released from custody, the station reported.“The victims were all from Dyer County, and we suspect the person that killed them knew all of them,” Goodman, who also confirmed Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the baby’s parents, told CNN last week.Rose was Adrianna Williams’ mother and Braydon Williams was Adrianna’s brother, according to Goodman. The baby girl – who authorities say is healthy and safe – is approximately 7 months old, he said.TBI has not elaborated beyond its news releases, which do not detail how the four were killed, how they were found, whether investigators know of a motive, or who may have left the baby in the yard near Tigrett.A weeklong manhuntThe manhunt for Drummond across rural Tennessee began after the baby was found in a car seat in a front yard near Tigrett on July 29, the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators began searching for a “dark-colored minivan or a white mid-size SUV” witnesses said had left the baby there.Hours after the baby’s abandonment, the sheriff’s office announced four people – later identified as the baby’s relatives – were found dead in Tiptonville.Drummond was wanted in connection with the four deaths. He was issued warrants charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, the TBI said.During the manhunt, he was captured on a resident’s camera system in Jackson Sunday night, police there said, and a vehicle associated with him was found unoccupied in that city.While Drummond was still on the run, Union University locked exterior doors to all buildings and Jackson Christian School was placed on lockdown Monday afternoon as authorities investigating the case searched a wooded area in Jackson.Multiple calls of sightings came in around 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, allowing police to place more resources in that area. An additional citizen’s call at 8:57 a.m. led to Drummond’s arrest by three nearby officers at 9:05 a.m., Corley said.“A couple of” firearms were recovered, the TBI director said, adding he could not say whether they were used in the killings.3 others arrested for accessoryThree people were arrested during the manhunt for Drummond, TBI said.Dearrah Sanders, 23, was taken into custody Monday on warrants charging her with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, accused of assisting Drummond after the killings of the baby’s relatives, TBI said.The same charges were also filed last week against Tanaka Brown and Giovontie Thomas, both 29. Brown is also charged with tampering with evidence, according to the TBI. Authorities have not specified precisely what the three are accused of doing to help Drummond.Investigators believe Drummond has connections to the Vice Lords gang and they suspect he may be getting help from its members, the law enforcement source said.The Vice Lords is a gang whose members have been involved in murder, drug trafficking and other violent crime, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say the gang has members and offshoot groups in Illinois and throughout Tennessee.During killings, suspect was ‘out on bond’Drummond had just gotten out of prison last year, and at the time of the killings he was out on bail after being charged with trying to kill someone while he was incarcerated, authorities have said.The suspect’s criminal history dates to July 2013, when authorities said the then-16-year-old robbed a Circle K convenience store in Jackson just after midnight. Drummond pulled out a pistol, pointed it at a store employee and demanded the money in the cash register, according to court documents.He was convicted in 2014 of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison, records show.After the trial, an incarcerated Drummond called his father and made threats against the jurors and the robbery victim, District Attorney Jody S. Pickens, who serves an area including Jackson, told CNN on Monday.For that, Drummond in 2015 pleaded guilty to several counts of retaliation for past action and was sentenced to a further three years in prison, making a combined 13 years, according to Pickens and court records.The district attorney’s office strongly opposed Drummond’s parole in a letter to the state’s board of parole regarding his upcoming hearing in July 2020, calling him a “dangerous felony offender.”Drummond’s attorney in the attempted murder case, Drew Farmer, declined to comment on details in that case and would not say whether he was representing Drummond in the charges related to last week’s killings.Drummond did not receive parole and was released from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville in September 2024, having served just under 11 years counting pretrial time served and credits from the Tennessee Department of Correction, according to Pickens and court records.The suspect then faced charges relating to his time in prison – first with an arrest on drug charges the same day he was released from prison – and then with the attempted murder charge later that year, according to TBI records. “He made bond,” and he was “out on bond on those charges” when the four bodies were found last week, according to the district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties.Goodman didn’t provide details about the attempted murder charge, except to say the alleged incident “took place inside the prison.” CNN has asked Goodman for further details.In a statement to CNN, the father of James M. Wilson said: “I hate that someone has taken my son from all of us. He really was a good young man. He was an exceptional father. He would stop and help anyone.”“This has left a huge hole in our family. No amount of justice will ever be able to replace our son,” said Matt Wilson.
As the weeklong manhunt for the suspect in the killings of four relatives of a baby found abandoned in Tennessee came to an end on Tuesday, police revealed the suspect’s girlfriend is related to the victims.
Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was arrested Tuesday morning in a wooded area in Jackson after multiple people reported sightings of him, according to Police Chief Thom Corley.
The bodies of James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15, were found July 29 in Tiptonville, a town in northwest Tennessee’s Lake County. The baby daughter of Wilson and Adrianna Williams had been found abandoned in a car seat near the Dyer County community of Tigrett, about 40 miles northwest of Jackson.
The girlfriend of Drummond – a convicted felon with alleged ties to a violent street gang who was out on bail on an attempted murder charge relating to the time he spent in prison – was also the sister of Rose, Danny Goodman, district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties, confirmed to CNN.
Authorities have not disclosed any motive in the killings or why the baby was abandoned a county away from where the bodies were found.
Here’s what we know about the case so far and what’s still unclear:
Suspect’s girlfriend was related to victims
At the news conference Tuesday, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said the suspect’s girlfriend was related to the victims.
Goodman later confirmed to CNN Drummond’s girlfriend and Rose were sisters.
Rose’s sister was a corrections officer at Northwest Correctional Complex at the time Drummond was incarcerated there, WHBQ reported, citing the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
Photos on social media show the pair together after Drummond was released from custody, the station reported.
“The victims were all from Dyer County, and we suspect the person that killed them knew all of them,” Goodman, who also confirmed Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the baby’s parents, told CNN last week.
Rose was Adrianna Williams’ mother and Braydon Williams was Adrianna’s brother, according to Goodman. The baby girl – who authorities say is healthy and safe – is approximately 7 months old, he said.
TBI has not elaborated beyond its news releases, which do not detail how the four were killed, how they were found, whether investigators know of a motive, or who may have left the baby in the yard near Tigrett.
A weeklong manhunt
The manhunt for Drummond across rural Tennessee began after the baby was found in a car seat in a front yard near Tigrett on July 29, the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators began searching for a “dark-colored minivan or a white mid-size SUV” witnesses said had left the baby there.
Hours after the baby’s abandonment, the sheriff’s office announced four people – later identified as the baby’s relatives – were found dead in Tiptonville.
Drummond was wanted in connection with the four deaths. He was issued warrants charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, the TBI said.
During the manhunt, he was captured on a resident’s camera system in Jackson Sunday night, police there said, and a vehicle associated with him was found unoccupied in that city.
While Drummond was still on the run, Union University locked exterior doors to all buildings and Jackson Christian School was placed on lockdown Monday afternoon as authorities investigating the case searched a wooded area in Jackson.
Multiple calls of sightings came in around 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, allowing police to place more resources in that area. An additional citizen’s call at 8:57 a.m. led to Drummond’s arrest by three nearby officers at 9:05 a.m., Corley said.
“A couple of” firearms were recovered, the TBI director said, adding he could not say whether they were used in the killings.
3 others arrested for accessory
Three people were arrested during the manhunt for Drummond, TBI said.
Dearrah Sanders, 23, was taken into custody Monday on warrants charging her with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, accused of assisting Drummond after the killings of the baby’s relatives, TBI said.
The same charges were also filed last week against Tanaka Brown and Giovontie Thomas, both 29. Brown is also charged with tampering with evidence, according to the TBI. Authorities have not specified precisely what the three are accused of doing to help Drummond.
Investigators believe Drummond has connections to the Vice Lords gang and they suspect he may be getting help from its members, the law enforcement source said.
The Vice Lords is a gang whose members have been involved in murder, drug trafficking and other violent crime, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say the gang has members and offshoot groups in Illinois and throughout Tennessee.
During killings, suspect was ‘out on bond’
Drummond had just gotten out of prison last year, and at the time of the killings he was out on bail after being charged with trying to kill someone while he was incarcerated, authorities have said.
The suspect’s criminal history dates to July 2013, when authorities said the then-16-year-old robbed a Circle K convenience store in Jackson just after midnight. Drummond pulled out a pistol, pointed it at a store employee and demanded the money in the cash register, according to court documents.
He was convicted in 2014 of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison, records show.
After the trial, an incarcerated Drummond called his father and made threats against the jurors and the robbery victim, District Attorney Jody S. Pickens, who serves an area including Jackson, told CNN on Monday.
For that, Drummond in 2015 pleaded guilty to several counts of retaliation for past action and was sentenced to a further three years in prison, making a combined 13 years, according to Pickens and court records.
The district attorney’s office strongly opposed Drummond’s parole in a letter to the state’s board of parole regarding his upcoming hearing in July 2020, calling him a “dangerous felony offender.”
Drummond’s attorney in the attempted murder case, Drew Farmer, declined to comment on details in that case and would not say whether he was representing Drummond in the charges related to last week’s killings.
Drummond did not receive parole and was released from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville in September 2024, having served just under 11 years counting pretrial time served and credits from the Tennessee Department of Correction, according to Pickens and court records.
The suspect then faced charges relating to his time in prison – first with an arrest on drug charges the same day he was released from prison – and then with the attempted murder charge later that year, according to TBI records. “He made bond,” and he was “out on bond on those charges” when the four bodies were found last week, according to the district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties.
Goodman didn’t provide details about the attempted murder charge, except to say the alleged incident “took place inside the prison.” CNN has asked Goodman for further details.
In a statement to CNN, the father of James M. Wilson said: “I hate that someone has taken my son from all of us. He really was a good young man. He was an exceptional father. He would stop and help anyone.”
“This has left a huge hole in our family. No amount of justice will ever be able to replace our son,” said Matt Wilson.
