Police in Jackson, Tennessee, arrested 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond on Tuesday, ending a four-day manhunt for the suspect accused of killing four members of the same family. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and local agencies had warned residents to shelter indoors after Drummond was reportedly sighted in a Jackson neighborhood earlier in the day. Investigators say Drummond fatally shot Braydon Williams, 15; Adrianna Williams, 20; James Matthew Wilson, 21; and their mother Cortney Rose, 38, in Lake County on 29 July. Hours before the bodies were discovered, a seven-month-old infant related to the victims was found unharmed in a car seat outside a home roughly 40 miles away in Tigrett. Drummond faces four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses, including being a felon in possession of a firearm. Court records show he previously served a 13-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery and retaliation and was released in September 2024. Authorities have already charged three people—Tanaka Brown, Giovonte Thomas and Dearrah Sanders—with accessory after the fact for allegedly helping Drummond evade capture. The infant is in protective care while investigators continue to examine how the child was separated from the crime scene and whether additional suspects were involved.
Austin Drummond, a convicted felon with gang ties, is on the run after allegedly murdering four family members in Tennessee, abandoning a baby, and receiving help from three alleged accomplices. Law&Crime’s Chris Stewart @cstewartnews is On the Case. https://t.co/r2jAPD6HIK
Austin Drummond is facing several charges, including first-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, and aggravated kidnapping, among others. https://t.co/xgMHC6WXzw
Police arrest suspect in killings of 4 Tennessee family members https://t.co/hQdYKB4Vgb https://t.co/fpBjPblGlW