They were found Saturday afternoon inside a house in the city of Citronelle, about 30 miles northwest of Mobile.
Advertisement
He kidnapped Lester and a 3-month-old child who belonged to one of the victims from the home and drove them to his father’s home in MS, police said.
Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said it was the worst crime she’s seen in her 20 years as a prosecutor.
Dearman’s girlfriend, Laneta Lester, reportedly fled to a relative’s house on Friday to escape from him, saying he was abusive, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the five people who were murdered in their home in Citronelle.
Capt. Paul Burch of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office tells The Associated Press that the ex-girlfriend, Laneta Lester, told investigators that she was taken against her will by the suspect, Derrick Dearman, after the killings and later freed.
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. She said that five people were “brutally and viciously murdered”. Also in the house was a three-month old infant that belonged to one of the murder victims. Authorities described the scene as “horrific” and “gruesome”.
The victims were killed using firearms and several other weapons, he said, without providing details on the types used.
Lester’s lover, Derrick Dearman, is now accused of slaughtering five people – including a pregnant woman – and then driving away with Lester and the infant.
Capt Burch said it appeared the murders had taken place later Saturday morning. Someone at the home called police around 1 a.m. Saturday to report Dearman on the property – but he had vanished by the time cops arrived.
Captain Burch said he understood that Citronelle police responded to the call but did not find anyone.
Advertisement
Burch said he expects Dearman to be charged with “five or six counts of capital murder”. Following a conversation with his father, Dearman released the woman and infant and turned himself into authorities.
