2 more people charged with helping man accused of killing 4 as he evaded authorities, officials say
Sep 3, 2025, 1:12 PM | Updated: 1:28 pm
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two more people have been charged with helping a Tennessee man evade authorities after he was accused of fatally shooting four people, investigators said Wednesday.
Eric Wise Jr., 26, and Michell Ovelis, 31, were indicted Tuesday by a grand jury on charges of being accessories after the fact in the late July killings and were booked into the Madison County Jail, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.
Details of how authorities suspect they helped Austin Robert Drummond as authorities searched for him were not released by the TBI. Online jail records did not show booking information for Wise or Ovelis, and a court clerk said records did not show if the pair had lawyers Wednesday.
Drummond has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found abandoned in a home’s front yard. A weeklong search for Drummond ended Aug. 5 in Jackson, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southeast of the location of the killings in Tiptonville.
Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty if Drummond is convicted of first-degree murder at trial. Drummond’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Lake County.
In addition to Wise and Ovelis, three other people have also been charged with helping Drummond by providing him with shelter, phones and rides as he evaded authorities.
The killings and the ensuing search set rural areas of west Tennessee on edge for days.
Officers responded to a call of an infant in a car seat being dropped at a “random individual’s front yard” on July 29 in the Tigrett area, roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Tiptonville, the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said.
Then, investigators in neighboring Lake County reported that four people had been found dead from gunshot wounds in Tiptonville. Officials determined they were the baby’s parents, James M. Wilson, 21, and Adrianna Williams, 20; Williams’ brother, Braydon Williams, 15; and their mother, Cortney Rose, 38.
The four victims hadn’t been seen since the night before their bodies were discovered in a wooded area, Lake County District Attorney Danny Goodman has said. Drummond is believed to have targeted them, the TBI says.
Drummond’s girlfriend is the sister of the infant’s grandmother, Goodman said.
Drummond has served prison time for robbing a convenience store and threatening to go after jurors. He was also charged with the attempted murder of a prison guard while behind bars, and he was out on bond at the time of the killings, Goodman said.
With a population of about 3,400 people, Tiptonville is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Memphis, near the Mississippi River and scenic Reelfoot Lake.
