Four suspects have been detained by authorities more than ten years after three bodies were discovered inside an abandoned automobile by the side of a Georgia highway.
An assistant principal at a middle school west of Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the people being held.
That man, 45-year-old Keante Harris, was indicted earlier this month by a grand jury on three counts of malicious murder for his alleged role in the 11-year-old killings.
According to Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen in a statement, the indictment similarly charges three other suspects, Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris, and Darrell Harris, with three counts each of malice murder.
Just south of Atlanta, in Clayton County, are the murders, according to the authorities. Their examination of the crimes revealed that all three of the victims had been tortured and killed before having their bodies placed inside a 2010 Dodge Charger, which was finally found outside Union City, along Interstate 85.
In January 2013, Union City police discovered their remains inside the car, as per Allen’s account.
“The victims were lured to a residence on Magnolia Drive in Jonesboro where they were forced into the residence at gunpoint. Later, they were loaded into the back seat of a Dodge Charger and taken to Fulton County,” the sheriff stated.
The victims had been killed via beating and strangulation. They were recognized as Quinones King, Rodney Cottrell, and Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, all of whom lived in Montgomery, Alabama.
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According to Allen, the grand jury indictments were just obtained by the Clayton County Police Department and the district attorney’s office, who have been actively investigating the killings.
Between Wednesday and Friday of last week, the four individuals were taken into custody on fugitive from justice warrants in three separate states, according to Allensaid. Harris is being held at the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, according to booking records.
Harris works for Jefferson County Schools, whose superintendent, Walter Gonsoulin, stated in a statement that he is the assistant principal of McAdory Middle School.
“We have been made aware that Mr. Keante Harris was arrested Wednesday afternoon,” Gonsoulin stated. “At this time we still are gathering facts about the specifics of this situation. However, early indications are that the charges are not related to this individual’s employment with Jefferson County Schools. Per standard procedure, Mr. Harris has been placed on paid administrative leave. As more facts become available, we will act according to our district’s policy.”
