Data from a cellphone used by a Tennessee man accused of killing four members of the same family and kidnapping a baby showed he was near a wooded area where the bodies were discovered with gunshot wounds and covered in tarpaulins, an FBI agent said Thursday.
FBI Special Agent Scott Lawson testified at a preliminary hearing for Austin Robert Drummond, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in the July 29 killings.
Drummond arrived in court wearing handcuffs. He did not speak at the hearing. Following approximately two hours of testimony from law enforcement officials, Lake County Judge Andrew Cook determined that there was sufficient evidence to present the case to a grand jury, which will consider a formal indictment on the charges.
However, Drummond’s attorney, Bryan Huffman, stated that no evidence was presented during the hearing to show Drummond actually shot any of the victims.
Drummond is accused of killing the parents, grandmother, and uncle of an infant discovered abandoned in the front yard of a home in rural west Tennessee. A weeklong search for Drummond ended on August 5 in Jackson, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southeast of Tiptonville, where the killings occurred.
If Drummond is found guilty of first-degree murder at trial, prosecutors have stated that he will face the death penalty.
The victims’ relatives attended the hearing. When a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent testified about the four family members discovered with gunshot wounds, one of the relatives yelled, “I’ve got to get out of here,” and quickly exited the courtroom.
On the day of the shootings, officers responded to a call about an infant in a car seat being dropped in a “random individual’s front yard” about 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Tiptonville, according to the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office.
Then, investigators in neighboring Lake County reported that four people had died from gunshot wounds in Tiptonville. They were identified as the baby’s parents, James M. Wilson, 21, and Adrianna Williams, 20, Williams’ brother, Braydon Williams, 15, and their mother, Cortney Rose, 38.
Lake County District Attorney Danny Goodman says Drummond’s girlfriend is the infant’s grandmother’s sister.
A sheriff’s deputy testified at Thursday’s hearing that the bodies were discovered in woods on state land in Tiptonville, covered in camouflage tarps. The bodies were discovered near two vehicles belonging to the victims.
Lawson, an FBI agent, testified that he examined data from a cellphone purchased by one of the victims and used by Drummond on July 29, the day of the murders. According to Lawson, Drummond spoke with suspected accomplices after the four family members were believed to have been killed that morning.
According to Lawson, the phone was also found near Drummond’s parents’ house, his girlfriend’s apartment, and a hotel where he had been staying. Other testimony revealed that Drummond’s acquaintances rented a Nissan Rogue for him and assisted him throughout the day.
In total, five people have been charged as accessory after the fact in this case.
During the hearing, video showed a pickup truck belonging to one of the victims leaving Tiptonville after the shootings, followed by a rented Nissan hours later heading back toward the crime scene. The victim’s truck was eventually discovered abandoned in a ravine.
Drummond took the infant without consent and kept it with him for hours before dropping it off in the front yard of a home in the afternoon, according to Goodman, the district attorney.
Drummond has been imprisoned for robbing a convenience store and threatening jurors. He was also charged with attempted murder of a prison guard while incarcerated, and Goodman claims he was out on bond at the time of the killings.
On Thursday, the judge agreed to issue an order prohibiting Drummond and his lawyers from speaking to the media about the case. The gag order was issued after Drummond gave an interview to a media outlet from jail.
Tiptonville, which has a population of approximately 3,400 people, is located about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Memphis, near the Mississippi River and the scenic Reelfoot Lake.
