Austin Robert Drummond, wanted Tennessee man in murders of family of four arrested after seven day manhunt as murder motive continues to remain mystery.
A Tennessee man suspected of murdering four family members in an ‘execution style’ homicide has been arrested after a week on the run.
Austin Robert Drummond, 28, is alleged to have murdered the parents of 7 month old baby Weslynne, who is believed to have been spared, after being dropped off in a car seat in the front of a random front yard and two other family members.
The victims were previously identified as mother, Adrianna Williams, 20; father, Matthew Wilson, 21; maternal grandmother, Cortney Rose, 38; and maternal uncle, Braydon Williams, 15, whose bodies were found along a dirt road in Tiptonville, Lake County, Tennessee on July 29.
Why did ‘family friend’ murder Tennessee family of four?
Wilson and Williams’ 7 month old baby girl was found on a ‘random’ front porch 40 miles from where the bodies were found within hours of the four family members’ deaths.
After spending seven days on the run and with Tennessee authorities launching a vast manhunt, Drummond was captured Tuesday morning, CNN reported.
Drummond was caught in a non specifiied wooded area Tuesday morning after being spotted by residents, according to a senior law enforcement official. He was taken into custody shortly after 8 a.m. CT, the official said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation did not say where Drummond, described as a ‘trusted family friend’ was captured, but shared an image of the murder suspect soaked from rainfall.
Updates on social media told of Jackson resident, Ricardo Contreras Mendoza, calling police when he noticed the wanted man in local woods, some 70 miles from the murders, wearing camouflage and armed with a rifle.
3 others arrested in assisting wanted Tennessee man commit slayings
Officials shared surveillance footage of the alleged quadruple murderer as they warned locals to ‘exercise extreme caution’ until the ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect is caught.
Investigators have not said what motivated Drummond to allegedly murder the family members, but have said that he is believed to have previously dated a relative of Williams.
In the week that Drummond was a fugitive, cops arrested three people in connection with the murders, including Dearrah Sanders, 23, who allegedly ‘assisted’ the killer.
Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovonte Thomas, 29, were also arrested during the manhunt, and all three are facing charges of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Authorities have not yet detailed how the three individuals allegedly helped Drummond.
Drummond was wanted on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and unlawful firearm possession, and officials were offering rewards upwards of $30,000 for information leading to his arrest the TBI said.
Prior to his arrest, Drummond was out on bond over an attempted murder charge that occurred while he was in prison when the killings took place.
Drummond had been recently released from a 13-year prison sentence for armed robbery.
A relative wrote on social media that during Drummond’s relationship with one of Rose’s sisters, he had been ‘literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids.’
