Tennessee Suspect in Quadruple Homicide and Kidnapping Set for His First Court Appearance After Indictment

A Tennessee man accused of killing four members of the same family and kidnapping an infant before evading authorities for a week is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday afternoon following his indictment earlier this month, as reported by The New York Post.

Austin Robert Drummond is set to be arraigned in circuit court in Lake County, a rural area in northwest Tennessee.

Austin Drummond set for court hearing Monday https://t.co/ZFeCje7IsZ

— WREG News Channel 3 (@3onyourside) November 17, 2025

A grand jury indicted Drummond on Nov. 10 on charges that include first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with the July 29 shootings.

Drummond previously pleaded not guilty in a lower court, where a judge determined there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to the grand jury.

Authorities have accused Drummond in the deaths of the parents, grandmother, and uncle of an infant who was discovered abandoned in a front yard in rural west Tennessee.

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The weeklong search for Drummond ended Aug. 5 in Jackson, roughly 70 miles southeast of Tiptonville, where the victims were found.

Prosecutors have stated they intend to seek the death penalty if Drummond is convicted of first-degree murder.

During a September hearing, an FBI agent testified that data from a cellphone used by Drummond placed him near a wooded area where the victims’ bodies were discovered. The bodies were found with gunshot wounds and covered with tarpaulins.

Drummond’s attorney, Bryan Huffman, contested the government’s case during the hearing, arguing that no evidence presented directly showed Drummond had shot the victims.

The investigation began after officers responded to a report of an infant in a car seat being left at “a random individual’s front yard,” according to the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office.

The location was approximately 40 miles from Tiptonville. Soon afterward, investigators in Lake County reported finding four people dead from gunshot wounds in Tiptonville.

The victims were identified as 21-year-old James M. Wilson and 20-year-old Adrianna Williams, the parents of the infant; Williams’ brother, 15-year-old Braydon Williams; and their mother, 38-year-old Cortney Rose.

Prosecutors have said Drummond’s girlfriend is the sister of the infant’s grandmother.

In total, five individuals have been charged as accessories after the fact in connection with the case.

Drummond has a criminal history that includes serving prison time for robbing a convenience store and threatening jurors. He has also been charged previously with the attempted murder of a prison guard while incarcerated.

At the time of the July killings, Drummond was free on bond, according to Lake County District Attorney Danny Goodman.

Tiptonville, the site of the shootings, is a community of approximately 3,400 residents located about 120 miles north of Memphis near the Mississippi River and Reelfoot Lake.

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