Dearman, of Leakesville, Mississippi, will be charged with six counts of capital murder, Mobile County sheriff’s spokeswoman Lori Myles said Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016.
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According to a statement from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office obtained by PEOPLE, the girlfriend, Laneta Lester, told investigators she’d been trying to break up with 27-year-old Derrick Dearborn for a while and was staying at a relative’s house in Citronelle, Alabama, which was the scene of the killings. At the time of his surrender, he faced an outstanding warrant on the burglary charge.
Derrick Dearman tells reporters he was on methamphetamine when he went to a house where the five were discovered dead Saturday.
According to information released by the Sheriff’s Office, Dearman turned himself in to authorities in Leakesville, Miss., on Saturday afternoon, meaning that he’d have to be extradited back to Mobile to face charges. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission.
The slayings, which happened at the end of a dirt road outside Citronelle, left three men and two women dead.
Dearman, who will be extradited to Mobile County, is now in a maximum security facility in George County.
“They were really good people”.
Relatives of the victims started an online fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses, and clerk Dawn Sullivan collected donations in a plastic jug on the counter at D&B Quick Stop, where the victims often stopped for snacks and drinks.
“It’s a sad situation”.
Residents say all the victims were related by blood or marriage. Alabama court records don’t indicate whether Dearman has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Dearman, 27, of Leakesville, Mississippi, will be charged with six counts of capital murder, Mobile County sheriff’s spokeswoman Lori Myles said.
The victims have been identified as 26-year-old Robert Lee Brown, husband and wife Chelsea Marie Reed, 22, and Justin Kaleb Reed, 23, as well as their unborn son; and Joseph Adam Turner, 26 and his wife (by common law) 35-year-old Shannon Melissa Randall. Turner and Randall were married. Her step-aunt Ms Randall would say “Be careful because you’re already got a hurt knee”. Ms Reed was pregnant with husband Justin Reed’s child, said the teenager.
The suspect, Derrick Dearman, attacked the victims with “multiple weapons” as they slept Saturday in the small town of Citronelle in southern Alabama, authorities said.
Dearman waited for a Citronelle police officer to search the dark, forested property and leave after a 911 call warned of a trespasser identified as the alleged soon-to-be butcher.
Mr Brown was Ms Randall’s brother, Madison said, and Ms Reed was Ms Randall’s niece.
Authorities previously said Dearman admitted to killing at least one person at the house.
Authorities say Dearman will be charged in the killings of five people in Citronelle.
Later, sometime between 1:15 a.m. and daylight Saturday, Dearman returned to the home and attacked the victims while they were sleeping, the statement said.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Charlie Passarelli Jr. said he suspected Dearman, not Lester, of being involved with drug activity.
