Later, Dearman apparently returned to the home and attacked the people inside, the statement said.
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Suspect Derrick Dearman of Leakesville, Mississippi, was taken into custody after he walked into the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Saturday afternoon and confessed to the crimes.
Police did say that an infant was found alive at the scene of the crime.
Chelsea Reed was five months’ pregnant, authorities said. The additional count is because one of the victims was 5 months pregnant.
Lester returned to Citronelle, a community of some 3,900 people, 30 miles north-northwest of Mobile, and told police there what had happened.
The victims were identified on Sunday as Shannon Melissa Randall, 35; Joseph Adam Turner, 26; Robert Lee Brown, 26; Justin Kaleb Reed, 23; and Chelsea Marie Reed, 22.
Though connections between Dearman and the five people killed were not immediately clear, investigators have determined that his ex-girlfriend, Laneta Lester, had gone to the home on August 19 to get away from an abusive relationship with Dearman, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Burch said he expects Dearman to be charged with “five or six counts of capital murder”.
On its official Twitter account, the sheriff’s office said Sunday that detectives are “attempting to establish the relationship between Dearman and the victims”.
“We’re not there yet”, Rich said, when asked about details of the deaths.
According to Drugs.com, that stamp is used to identify pills containing a mix of acetaminophen and hydrocodone, but the official said at least one of the pills tested positive for fentanyl. “We have a awful scene here”.
Police said a resident of the home raised the alarm between midnight and 1am on Saturday to report that Dearman was trespassing on the property. Burch added Dearman is the only suspect in the incident.
Burch said it appeared the murders had taken place later Saturday morning.
The bodies were located after an unidentified woman called police Saturday afternoon to report she’d escaped a kidnapper.
According to investigating officers, 34 year-old Laneta Lester was staying with her sister at the home on Jim Platt Road in Citronelle. Burch said investigators believed the woman who contacted police had an undetermined relationship with Dearman.
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An investigation is ongoing.
