Two more people have been arrested and charged with helping Tennessee quadruple murder suspect Austin Drummond as he evaded police in early August.
Eric Wise Jr., 26, and Michell Ovelis, 31, were indicted Tuesday on two counts each of being accessories after the fact to murder, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday.
“During the course of that investigation, agents learned that Wise and Ovelis assisted murder suspect Austin Drummond in evading authorities,” the TBI wrote in a press release without providing further details.
Wise and Ovelis are two of five people who have now been accused of helping Drummond while he was on the lam between July 29 and Aug. 5. Tanaka Brown, 29; Giovontie Thomas, 29; and Dearrah Sanders, 23, face similar charges.
Drummond, 28, is accused of killing Cortney Rose, 38; her two children, 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams, and Adrianna’s boyfriend, 21-year-old James Wilson.
The four victims were found dead from gunshot wounds in Tiptonville, near the state’s northwest corner, roughly 40 miles from where a baby had been found abandoned in the front yard of a home.
Investigators later determined the victims were all related to the baby. Wilson and Adrianna Williams were her parents, Braydon Williams was her uncle, and Rose was the baby’s maternal grandmother.
A six-day search for Drummond had areas of western Tennessee on edge, and residents were warned that he was armed and dangerous. He was eventually captured in Jackson, about 60 miles southeast of the crime scene.
Any motive for the killings remains unclear. Drummond knew the family and had previously dated Rose’s sister, according to police.
Drummond has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder. He told a local news station he’s innocent and claimed he only went on the run because he was an FBI informant whose cover was blown.
