A search is underway for a 28-year-old man accused of killing four people in Lake County, Tennessee. 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond is at large after allegedly carrying out a brutal quadruple homicide.
An infant was found abandoned in Dyer County earlier this week. Shortly after, four relatives were found murdered in nearby Lake County, including the baby’s parents.
The victims have been identified as the baby’s parents, Matthew Wilson, 21, and Adrianna Williams, 20, along with the child’s maternal grandmother, Courtney Rose, 38, and maternal uncle, Braydon Williams, 15.
Who is Austin Robert Drummond?
Drummond has been described as a white male weighing 190 pounds and standing 5 feet and 10 inches tall. A warrant has been issued for his arrest by the TBI, and he has also been added to its “Most Wanted” list.
Sheriff Jeff Box of the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office expressed his sorrow over the incident, saying, according to a Facebook post, “This is a deeply saddening day for our community. We are committed to uncovering the truth and ensuring justice is served.”
The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office added in the post, “The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office remains dedicated to resolving both the abandoned infant case and the ongoing investigation at the crime scene. We will continue to update the public as more information becomes available. Please remember everyone in your prayers. If you have any information related to this incident, please contact the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office at 731-285-2802.”
The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said in another post, “If you have any video footage that could be pertinent to the TBI’s investigation into the recent quadruple homicide in Lake County, please contact us immediately at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Your assistance could make a significant difference. Thank you for your cooperation and support!”
In one post, the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said the Jackson Police Department has located Drummond’s car in the woods near the dead end of MCO road. The post added that it appeared as though Drummond has been living in the vehicle, and may be in the area. He is considered “armed and dangerous.”
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Drummond is currently wanted on warrants for 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.
A $15,000 reward has been offered to anyone whose help leads to Drummond being located and arrested.
Austin Robert Drummond’s criminal history
Records show that Drummond has a lengthy criminal history, according to wreg.com. He was allegedly a member of the Vice Lords street gang, and was out on bond at the time of the murders, the local district attorney said.
Court records show that Drummond had spent several years in prison for robbing a convenience store when he was 16, and threatening to go after jurors.
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For the July 2013 robbery in Jackson, Tennessee, he was tried as an adult. He was accused of pointing a pistol at the gas station store worker and demanding that the cash register be opened. He took the $44 inside.
Drummond was denied parole at a 2020 hearing. At the time, he said he was on Xanax the night of the robbery and does not remember what he did. He said that the gun was a BB gun.
The jury convicted Drummond of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014. After that, he threatened to go after jurors during the parole hearing. In February 2015, he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of retaliation for past action.
Jody Pickens, the district attorney that covers Madison County, urged against early release for Drummond. Pickens wrote in a 2020 letter that Drummond was “a dangerous felony offender and a confirmed member of the Vice Lords,” a street gang. Pickens added that the suspect made the threats against jurors and the victim in the robbery during a phone call with his father.
Drummond was given a combined 13-year sentence, which ended in September 2024, according to Tennessee Department of Correction records. As of the 2020 parole hearing, he had more than two dozen disciplinary issues in prison, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault, refusing a drug test and gang activity. Drummond claimed that the assault and the deadly weapon charges stemmed from an incident in which he was almost beaten to death.
Drummond was criminally charged for activities he carried out inside the prison, including attempted murder, after he completed the sentence that landed him in prison, according to District Attorney Danny Goodman. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and contraband in a penal facility in December. Since then, Drummond has been arrested on more charges, such as meth, contraband, and unlawful telecommunication devices in a penal facility.
Goodman confirmed that Drummond served his entire sentence, and that there was no probation or parole. “He had these new charges pending from where it occurred inside the prison,” he said.
Goodman said Drummond was later transferred to Lake County, where he made bond. “He is currently out on those bonds for those charges, has court dates that have been set, has actually appeared in court and now has these current charges that had just occurred,” Goodman stated.
Two of Austin Robert Drummond’s ‘associates’ arrested
Meanwhile, two men described as “associates” of Drummond have been arrested on suspicion of helping the fugitive, NBC News reported. Special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Tanaka Brown and Giovonte Thomas, both 29, who have been charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Brown additionally faces one count of tampering with evidence.
Brown is now being held in Lake County Jail. Thomas is being held in the Madison County Jail on an unrelated charge of failure to appear, and is set to be transferred to Lake County Jail.
