Current:Home > NewsSomeone fishing with a magnet dredged up new evidence in Georgia couple’s killing, officials say -FutureProof Finance
Someone fishing with a magnet dredged up new evidence in Georgia couple’s killing, officials say
View
Date:2025-04-16 00:13:55
McRAE-HELENA, Ga. (AP) — Someone using a magnet to fish for metal objects in a Georgia creek pulled up a rifle as well as some lost belongings of a couple found slain in the same area more than nine years ago.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says driver’s licenses, credit cards and other items dragged from Horse Creek in rural Telfair County are “new evidence” in a murder case that’s still awaiting trial.
A citizen who was magnet fishing in the creek on April 14 discovered a .22-caliber rifle, the GBI said in a news release Monday. The unnamed person returned to the same spot two days later and made another find: A bag containing a cellphone, a pair of driver’s licenses and credit cards.
The agency says the licenses and credit cards belonged to Bud and June Runion. The couple was robbed and fatally shot before their bodies were discovered off a county road in January 2015.
Authorities say the couple, from Marietta north of Atlanta, made the three-hour drive to Telfair County to meet someone offering to sell Bud Runion a 1966 Mustang.
A few days later, investigators arrested Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns on charges of armed robbery and murder. They said Towns lured the couple to Telfair County by replying to an online ad that the 69-year-old Bud Runion had posted seeking a classic car, though Towns didn’t own such a vehicle.
Towns is tentatively scheduled to stand trial in August, more than nine years after his arrest, according to the GBI. His defense attorney, Franklin Hogue, did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment Tuesday.
The items found in the creek led investigators to obtain warrants to search a Telfair County home where they recovered additional evidence, the GBI’s statement said. The agency gave no further details.
Georgia courts threw out Towns’ first indictment over problems with how the grand jury was selected — a prolonged legal battle that concluded in 2019. Towns was indicted for a second time in the killings in 2020, and the case was delayed again by the COVID-19 pandemic. He has pleaded not guilty.
Court proceedings have also likely been slowed by prosecutors’ decision to seek the death penalty, which requires extra pretrial legal steps.
veryGood! (77956)
Related
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- If you buy Sammy Hagar's Ferrari, you may be invited to party too: 'Bring your passport'
- What to know about the pipeline that brings water to millions of Grand Canyon goers
- Sigourney Weaver chokes up over question connecting her movie roles to Kamala Harris' campaign
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Gigi and Bella Hadid's Mom Yolanda Hadid Engaged to CEO Joseph Jingoli After 6 Years of Dating
- Police fatally shoot man on New Hampshire-Maine bridge along I-95; child, 8, found dead in vehicle
- Gigi and Bella Hadid's Mom Yolanda Hadid Engaged to CEO Joseph Jingoli After 6 Years of Dating
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Texas must build hundreds of thousands of homes to lower housing costs, says state comptroller
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Caroline Garcia blames 'unhealthy betting' for online abuse after US Open exit
- California lawmakers pass bill that could make undocumented immigrants eligible for home loans
- Military shipbuilder Austal says investigation settlement in best interest of company
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Paris Paralympic opening ceremony: 5 things you didn’t see on NBC’s broadcast
- Leah Remini and Husband Angelo Pagán Share Reason Behind Breakup After 21 Years of Marriage
- Giants rookie Malik Nabers gets permission to wear Ray Flaherty's No. 1, retired since 1935
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Nikki Garcia's Husband Artem Chigvintsev Arrested for Domestic Violence
Chelsea Handler on her new Las Vegas residency, today's political moment and her dog Doug
Errol Morris examines migrant family separation with NBC News in ‘Separated’
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
Jinger Duggar Wants to Have Twins With Jeremy Vuolo
Blake Lively’s Brother-in-Law Bart Johnson Fiercely Defends Her Amid It Ends With Us Criticism
Giants rookie Malik Nabers gets permission to wear Ray Flaherty's No. 1, retired since 1935