SUSPECT IN CUSTODY TN - 4 people found deceased, related to an infant abandoned in car seat in someone's yard (Dyer County, TN) 29 July 2025

[MassGuy]

Do we have any information that says this is a straight up homicide?

I may not be reading the best today, so I may have missed something, but has the possibility of a murder suicide or suicide pact been ruled out by statements from LE?

Sometimes cultish behaviour or extreme belief is limited to a single family.

MOO

Yes.

In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, TBI confirmed this is a homicide investigation. They continue to look for the suspect or suspects.

“There’s always concern when there is a suspect or suspects out on, that we have not caught yet. So, anyone who knows of anything, please report it. Please call 1-800-TBI-FIND, or call the local law enforcement agency wherever that person is immediately,” said Kim Wheeler-Elder, public information officer for TBI.

Again, anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.

State seeks death penalty against quadruple murder suspect

Quadruple-murder suspect, 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond, appeared in court virtually on Thursday, August 7.

www.kfvs12.com

 

[iamshadow21]

Yes.

In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, TBI confirmed this is a homicide investigation. They continue to look for the suspect or suspects.

“There’s always concern when there is a suspect or suspects out on, that we have not caught yet. So, anyone who knows of anything, please report it. Please call 1-800-TBI-FIND, or call the local law enforcement agency wherever that person is immediately,” said Kim Wheeler-Elder, public information officer for TBI.

Again, anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.

State seeks death penalty against quadruple murder suspect

Quadruple-murder suspect, 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond, appeared in court virtually on Thursday, August 7.

www.kfvs12.com

Okay, cool.

Thanks. My researching/retention skills aren't great today. Anxiety disorder + valium, tl;dr, it's harder to keep up with new stuff.

MOO

 

[Linda7NJ]

This case may take a few more days (I'm predicting much shorter), but I'm sure they'll wind up having a rock solid case in due course. Phones will almost certainly be a big part of that if this was some sort of trap, and if they don't have the phones then phone records will tell that story. There's no way to commit a crime like this and get away with it (there's going to be physical evidence, surveillance footage, phone data, and too many people involved to keep it a secret).

From your lips to God’s ear

 

[MassGuy]

Okay, cool.

Thanks. My researching/retention skills aren't great today. Anxiety disorder + valium, tl;dr, it's harder to keep up with new stuff.

MIO

Lol, the question made we wonder if that was actually possible, because I hadn't considered murder suicide for some reason. Now I remember why.

 

[iamshadow21]

Lol, the question made we wonder if that was actually possible, because I hadn't considered murder suicide for some reason. Now I remember why.

Hey, we're all here to ask the questions, even the ones that are redundant. It was my turn today.

 

[Lucy6226]

Do we have any information that says this is a straight up homicide?

I may not be reading the best today, so I may have missed something, but has the possibility of a murder suicide or suicide pact been ruled out by statements from LE?

Sometimes cultish behaviour or extreme belief is limited to a single family.

MOO

I had wondered if murder-suicide was possible, ie the person in the second car was the perp maybe. But I'm late to the thread so missed the press release saying otherwise

 

[Inthedetails]

I've seen a few people mention a possibility of a link to Arkansas, and apparently the father of the child was driving from Arkansas early Tuesday morning. I'm not convinced these are related, but I'm also not convinced they're not.

Not related.

The Arkansas perp has been arrested, close to where the crime was committed in NW Arkansas.

jmopinion

 

[Lusitana]

Well, the more details are released, the stranger all of this sounds. For some reason, I assumed the baby was found early in the morning versus early in the afternoon. I'm also surprised they were found dead inside the car(s), I thought they were found at home. So... when did this crime actually happened? During the day?

Either way, the baby looks well cared for, BUT I wouldn't be surprised if the family has some ties to crime and violence. That doesn't mean the baby wasn't loved and cared for properly, people can have issues and still care about their kids.

 

[Chimera]

TN has the ultimate penalty, and if this case doesn't qualify.....
What does ?
Bet the perp(s) didn't consider that.
Imo.

Last execution was in May of this year.

Oscar Franklin Smith - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[detective.moon]

TN has the ultimate penalty, and if this case doesn't qualify.....
What does ?
Bet the perp(s) didn't consider that.
Imo.

Last execution was in May of this year.

Oscar Franklin Smith - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

both this guy and the next person who will be executed (on august the 5th) were men who killed their (ex)partner and their family. makes me wonder if the case we talk about in this thread will be a similar story

wikipedia - clay family murders

 

[tlcya]

Wednesday, FOX13 crews saw agents pulling two cars out of the wooded area in Lake County where authorities discovered the bodies.
Four people found dead identified; all family of baby abandoned in car seat, DA says

bodies discovered on Tuesday evening per this article:
An Abandoned Baby Was Found in Tenn. Yard — Now Officials Say Her Parents and Family Members Were Murdered

But cars weren't pulled out of the woods until Wednesday in the same area as the bodies were found? I am not convinced the bodies were found in the vehicles. Else why wouldn't LE have pulled the vehicles out of the woods as they were processing the dead body scene? Unless maybe it was too dark when they finally located the bodies?

 

[MyJoey]

Seems domestic to me, someone wanted the family gone. They don’t appear to be drug users to me, however someone in their circle could be.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Baby found dumped, 4 family members murdered in small Tennessee town

LAKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WAND) - A small town in Tennessee is reeling after a baby was found abandoned in someone's yard, and her entire family was found murdered.

www.wandtv.com

Snipped from article:

Before the bodies were found, Dyer County deputies said they got a 911 call Tuesday night at 10:36 reporting Rose and her daughter as missing.

_______________________

Recognizing that this might be sloppy reporting, it's curious that this article states only 2 of the victims (the females) were reported missing on Tuesday night.

Would love to know who made that 911 call, and if only 2 victims were reported missing, why neither of the males were mentioned at that time, especially the 15-year-old.

Would love to know whether they were all killed at that location or if some/all of the bodies were moved after death.

I also wonder whether all 4 were killed at the same time or not. If not, I wonder if one of the male victims made that 911 call.

Unfortunately, I don't think LE will be releasing that 911 tape.

I don't have much confidence in the TBI based on a couple of other cases I've followed here, Summer Wells and Sebastian Rogers, who are still missing with their cases seemingly tossed into the attic collecting dust.

JMO.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Tennessee Public Court Records

Searching Dyer and Lake Counties with oldest victim's name (grandma) yielded a couple of recent results.

One as recently as last month.

 

[su5ie]

Baby found dumped, 4 family members murdered in small Tennessee town

LAKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WAND) - A small town in Tennessee is reeling after a baby was found abandoned in someone's yard, and her entire family was found murdered.

www.wandtv.com

Snipped from article:

Before the bodies were found, Dyer County deputies said they got a 911 call Tuesday night at 10:36 reporting Rose and her daughter as missing.

_______________________

Recognizing that this might be sloppy reporting, it's curious that this article states only 2 of the victims (the females) were reported missing on Tuesday night.

Would love to know who made that 911 call, and if only 2 victims were reported missing, why neither of the males were mentioned at that time, especially the 15-year-old.

Would love to know whether they were all killed at that location or if some/all of the bodies were moved after death.

I also wonder whether all 4 were killed at the same time or not. If not, I wonder if one of the male victims made that 911 call.

Unfortunately, I don't think LE will be releasing that 911 tape.

I don't have much confidence in the TBI based on a couple of other cases I've followed here, Summer Wells and Sebastian Rogers, who are still missing with their cases seemingly tossed into the attic collecting dust.

JMO.

Article containing audio of 911 call

TBI seeking suspect(s) after 4 family members of abandoned baby discovered dead

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says one or more suspects are being sought after the overnight discovery of four bodies in Northwest Tennessee, which has since been connected to an abandoned infant case.

www.actionnews5.com

 

[GMS]

Article containing audio of 911 call

TBI seeking suspect(s) after 4 family members of abandoned baby discovered dead

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says one or more suspects are being sought after the overnight discovery of four bodies in Northwest Tennessee, which has since been connected to an abandoned infant case.

www.actionnews5.com

The WAND news report states the victim's bodies were discovered in a home (bbm). Not sure if this is accurate reporting as I have not seen any other MSM articles with this information.

"Four bodies, later identified as the baby's parents, grandmother, and teenage uncle, were discovered in a home in nearby Lake County."

 

[katikaboom]

Tennessee Public Court Records

Searching Dyer and Lake Counties with oldest victim's name (grandma) yielded a couple of recent results.

One as recently as last month.

I don't see anything under either of her names in Lake, can you point me in the right direction?

The ones in Dyer seem to all be traffic infractions or involve nonpayment to other parties. No drugs or violence at all

 

[MassGuy]

Here’s our boy:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1950951253334278333

 

[MassGuy]

He's the boyfriend or husband of the sister of the grandmother (Cortney). His name is mentioned in the obituary for Cortney's mother

Well done! I was looking for a connection. Nice guy: Teen convicted in 2013 convenience store robbery

 

[MassGuy]

Suspect’s Facebook.

Scroll down to his prison pictures…

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com