The felon suspected of killing a Tennessee family and abandoning their baby girl 40 miles away in a stranger's yard has been arrested, authorities announced on Tuesday. Austin Drummond, 28, was arrested on Tuesday morning in Jackson, Tennessee, one week after he allegedly murdered four people in Tiptonville.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation posted a photo on Facebook showing the worn-out former fugitive moments after his arrest. Drummond was seen wearing a black hoodie and drenched in sweat at the time of his arrest. His arrest came just hours after surveillance footage, released by the Jackson Police Department, showed him carrying a rifle, wearing camouflage gear, and a brown backpack.
Arrested at Last
Drummond is the alleged killer of four members of an abandoned infant found in Dyer County earlier this week. Those among killed are baby's two parents, Matthew Wilson (21) and Adrianna Williams (20), as well as Courtney Rose (38) and Braydon Williams (15).
Drummond, who had no familial ties to the victims but had previously dated one of Rose's sisters, abandoned Wilson and Williams' infant daughter on a "random" front yard located 40 miles from the scene where the bodies were found.
After evading authorities for seven days and prompting an extensive manhunt, Drummond was apprehended on Tuesday morning.
However, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation did not reveal the exact location of his arrest.
Prior to his capture, Drummond was last seen on Sunday night in Jackson, about 70 miles from the crime scene, dressed in camouflage and carrying a rifle.
Police released surveillance footage of the suspected killer and urged residents to "exercise extreme caution," warning that he was "armed and dangerous."
The reason behind the killings remains unclear. At the time the four victims were found, Drummond was out on bond related to a previous attempted murder charge from his time in prison.
Motive Still Unclear
Drummond had been released from a 13-year prison term for armed robbery in September 2024. Police warned that he might have changed his appearance while evading capture, and a photo taken at the time of his arrest showed he had shaved the goatee seen in his previous mugshot.
The disturbing episode began when authorities were alerted to a baby girl, the daughter of Wilson and Williams, who had been left in a car seat on a stranger's front lawn in Tigrett, Tennessee.
A resident reported seeing a white vehicle pull into the yard, drop off the child, and speed away, prompting an urgent effort to locate the infant's family.
Initially, law enforcement posted on social media that they were looking for Rose, Williams, and Wilson, believing they might have been involved in abandoning the child.
However, the search took a much darker turn when officers found four bodies with gunshot wounds about 40 miles away in a wooded area in Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Two days later, on July 31, Drummond was officially named the prime suspect in the killings.
During the week Drummond was on the run, police arrested three people believed to be connected to the murders, including 23-year-old Dearrah Sanders, who allegedly "assisted" the suspect.
Tanaka Brown, 29, and Giovonte Thomas, also 29, were arrested during the manhunt as well. All three are now facing charges of being accessories after the fact to first-degree murder.
Authorities have not yet released specific details on how the trio is accused of assisting Drummond.
