Major update in case of baby discovered abandoned on random lawn before family members found dead in nearby town
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
A major update has been detailed in the case of the deaths of four relatives of a baby found abandoned last week in Tennessee.
38-year-old Cortney Rose; her children, 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams; as well as Adrianna's partner, James Wilson, 21, were killed on July 29.
The family relatives were found deceased along a road in Lake County, Tiptonville, in northwest Tennessee, local authorities confirmed in a press release.
Hours earlier, police discovered the baby daughter of Adrianna and James alive in a car seat in a 'random' lawn near the community town of Tigrett - some 40 miles from where the bodies had been found.
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"Medical Center EMS and Crockett County Ambulance Service was called to evaluate the child," Dyer County Sheriff's Office's said in a Facebook post.
"The victims were all from Dyer County, and we suspect the person that killed them knew all of them," Danny Goodman, district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties, added to CNN.
Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was immediately identified as a suspect in the case, and multiple sightings of the suspected killer were reported in the past few days.
Police released an image of him taken on Sunday (August 3) by a home security camera, while a staggering $30,000 was offered for information leading to the suspect's capture.
Drummond was detained in rural Tennessee on Tuesday (August 5) morning after residents spotted the suspect and alerted law enforcement.
"This marks an important step in restoring safety to our community," Jackson Police Chief Thom Corley said about Drummond’s arrest in a press release detailed earlier.
Upon his arrest, Drummond is facing four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has explained.
The (TBI) hasn’t disclosed what led it to name Drummond as a suspect, whether investigators know of a motive in the killings, or why the baby was abandoned an entire county away from where the bodies were found.
Court records show Drummond was previously convicted of aggravated robbery after robbing a gas station in Jackson back in 2013.
He ultimately spent 10 years behind bars for that offence before being released in September 2024, according to court records.
The family of James have spoken out in recent days after losing the 'best son on earth'.
Matt Wilson, the victim's father, told CNN: "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. He was always polite and well-behaved.
"Adrianna was the perfect momma to my grandbaby. I hope that everyone that is involved is brought to justice and soon. Sincerely the father of the best son on earth."