Vehicle of Tennessee quadruple murder suspect found as details of criminal past emerge

The vehicle driven by Tennessee quadruple murder suspect Austin Drummond was found abandoned as details are emerging about his lengthy criminal background. 

A manhunt is ongoing Saturday for Drummond, a 28-year-old wanted in the murders of four people this week in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Police said an infant later found on the front lawn of a random individual’s house is related to all four deceased individuals, identified as family members of Drummond’s current girlfriend. 

“The Jackson Police Department has located the vehicle driven by Austin Drummond in the woods near the dead end of MCO road,” the agency said Friday regarding an 2016 Audi A3 with a Tennessee license plate. “It appears that he has been living in the vehicle and may be in the area. 

“JPD asks all people within the immediate area of this alert, to lock their doors and stay indoors as we actively search for Drummond,” it added. “Remember, he is considered armed and extremely dangerous.” 

TENNESSEE MANHUNT FOR QUADRUPLE MURDER SUSPECT TIED TO ‘TARGETED ATTACK’ AFTER BABY FOUND ABANDONED: DA 

Jackson is located about 70 miles southeast of Tiptonville, where the victims — James M. Wilson, 21, Adrianna Williams, 20, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15 — were found Tuesday. 

Tennessee District 29 District Attorney Danny Goodman said during a Friday press conference that at the time of the alleged murders, Drummond was out on bond for trying to kill someone while he was in prison on Dec. 12, 2024. 

“It was a targeted attack,” Goodman added during an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Friday. 

Goodman revealed the four victims were family members of Drummond’s current girlfriend. Rose and Adrianna are half-sisters, and both of Williams’ siblings are her nephew and niece.  

A reward of $15,000 is now being offered for Drummond’s arrest. The nature of the alleged killings is unclear, but the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has said it obtained warrants for Drummond charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses. 

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“Getting Austin Drummond in custody is a priority. Anyone with information about where we can find him should call us immediately. You will remain anonymous,” U.S. Marshal Tyreece Miller said in a statement. The U.S. Marshals are assisting the TBI in the manhunt. 

Drummond previously spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store as a 16-year-old and threatening to go after jurors, the Associated Press reported, citing court records. 

He was tried as an adult for the July 2013 robbery in Jackson, Tennessee. During the incident, he pointed a pistol at the gas station store worker and ordered the cash register to be opened, taking the $44 inside, court records show. 

At a 2020 hearing in which he was denied parole, Drummond said he was on Xanax the night of the robbery and doesn’t remember robbing the gas station. He said the gun was a BB gun. 

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After the jury convicted him of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, he made threats to go after jurors, Drummond said during the parole hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to 13 counts of retaliation for past action. 

The district attorney that covers Madison County, Jody Pickens, urged against early release for Drummond, writing a letter in 2020 that called him “a dangerous felony offender and a confirmed member of the Vice Lords,” a street gang, according to the AP. 

Drummond ultimately was given a combined 13-year sentence. His sentence ended in September 2024, Tennessee Department of Correction records showed. 

As of the 2020 parole hearing, Drummond also had more than two dozen disciplinary issues in prison, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault, refusing a drug test and gang activity. Drummond said the assault and the deadly weapon charges occurred because he was almost beaten to death. 

Fox News’ Julia Bonavita, Adam Sabes, Samantha Daigle and The Associated Press contributed to this report.