Share

Killed After Helping Woman Escape Abusive Ex

Earlier, a MS sheriff said Dearman had admitted killing at least one of the five adults slain at a rural home where his estranged girlfriend had sought shelter amid allegations of abuse.

Advertisement

The bodies of the two women and three men were found Saturday afternoon inside the home in Citronelle, a small town 30 miles northwest of Mobile.

Five people were found dead in Alabama on Saturday, including a pregnant woman, in connection to a domestic dispute.

“It’s unprecedented here”, Burch told The Associated Press.

“We have a awful scene here”, Rich told reporters. He said that investigators had been processing the crime scene, meanwhile, and that he expected autopsies on the victims to be conducted on Monday as well.

A man is in custody after five people, including a pregnant woman, were “brutally and viciously” murdered inside a house. They say at approximately 1 a.m. on August 20, someone inside the residence called 911 to report Dearman being on the property.

Between 1:15 a.m and daylight, authorities say Dearman returned to the home, unlawfully entered the property and attacked the victims while they slept.

After initially refusing to sign paperwork to be returned to Alabama, Dearman later agreed to be taken there for prosecution, Greene County, Mississippi, Sheriff Stanley McLeod said.

Dearman has confessed to the crimes, Burch told the news site Al.com.

Burch relayed that Dearman has “been cooperative” since his arrest.

Dearman killed Shannon Randall, 35, Justin Reed, 23, Joseph Turner, 26, Robert Brown, 26, and Chelsea Reed, 22, according to police.

Dearman is still in custody in MS and will likely be extradited to Alabama this week, Burch said. The Mobile County Sheriff’s office would not release details of the murders – only that several weapons were used, including a gun.

Dearman kidnapped his estranged girlfriend, Laneta Lester, and an infant from the home, Mobile County sheriff’s Capt. Paul Burch said. The AP reported that Lester was staying at the home with a relative.

Authorities say Dearman will be charged in the killings of five people in Citronelle. The additional count is because 22-year-old Chelsea Marie Reed, was 5 months pregnant, Myles said. Following a conversation with his father, Dearman released the woman and infant and turned himself into authorities.

After the killings, Dearman forced Lester and the 3-month-old child of one of the victims into a vehicle and they drove to Dearman’s father’s house in Mississippi.

Advertisement

Burch said that after Dearman is booked into jail in Mobile, the warrants against him will be executed and a bond hearing will be set, likely for later this week.

Derrick Dearman's ex-wife Crystal Dearman told WALA-TV she suffered frequent violent threats from him both during their marriage and after they were separated