In an interview from behind bars, accused quadruple killer Austin Drummond denied murdering a family of four in Tennessee and also claimed to have served as an undercover agent for federal investigators.
“During my time working for them I helped them uncover drug dealers selling multiple kilos of cocaine, also drug traffickers delivering pounds of meth,” he told News 5 during a phone call from jail. “We identified dirty law enforcement and correctional personnel and tapped Vice Lord leadership phones.”
Drummond further claimed he was told his cover blown weeks before the murders of 38-year-old Cortney Rose; her two children, 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams; and Adrianna’s boyfriend, 21-year-old James “Michael” Wilson.
Their bodies were discovered on July 29 in a wooded area in Tiptonville, after a baby girl was found abandoned in the front yard of a home some 40 miles away. All of the victims were related to the infant, who was not physically harmed, police said. Wilson and Adrianna Williams were her parents, Rose was her grandmother and Braydon Williams was her uncle.
The grisly killings sparked an intense manhunt, which culminated in Drummond’s arrest in Jackson nearly a week later. He told News 5 he only ran because his cover was blown, which made him fear for his life.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation via AP
This photo provided by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation shows Austin Drummond, moments after having been taken into custody on Aug. 5. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation via AP)
A motive for the murders remain under investigation, but police have said Drummond had a previous relationship with the family and reportedly used to date Rose’s sister. And while he admitted he was “directly involved” with the killings, Drummond said he is innocent of the deaths themselves.
“I had no reason to hurt these people. They were my girlfriend’s family who had became my family,” he told News 5, “I took Adrianna to the hospital to have her baby. I helped teach Braydon to drive. Matthew was like a little brother to me, man.”
Authorities have also arrested three other men in connection with the case. Tanaka Brown, Giovante Thomas and Dearrah Sanders are each facing a count of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Brown was additionally charged with evidence tampering.
All three suspects are accused of assisting Drummond, but authorities have not specified how they were involved in the killings.
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