Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich: “[In my] 20-year career as a prosecutor, I’ve never seen a scene where there were five people that were brutally and viciously murdered. That’s what we have here.”
By J.B. Biunno, Emily DeVoe and Jacqueline Quynh
WKRG News 5
August 21, 2016
CITRONELLE, AL -- The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the five victims killed in a “gruesome” and “vicious” murder Saturday at a home in Citronelle. It’s being called one of the worst mass killings in Alabama history.
Robert Lee Brown, 26-years-old
Chelsea Marie Reed (5 months pregnant), 22-years-old
Justin Kaleb Reed, 23-years-old
Joseph Adam Turner, 27-years-old
Shannon Melissa Randall, 35-years-old
Authorities say the murderer, 27-year-old Derrick Dearman, turned himself in to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and is cooperating with investigators.
After examining the crime scene, Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said it was the most disturbing murder scene she’s ever seen.
“[In my] 20-year career as a prosecutor, I’ve never seen a scene where there were five people that were brutally and viciously murdered,” Rich said. “That’s what we have here.”
Dearman is believed to have used multiple weapons to commit the savage murders at the home on Jim Platt Road on Saturday morning. Dearman’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Laneta Lester, was staying at the home with her 3-month-old infant to avoid Dearman, who said to be abusing her.
Around 1:00am Saturday morning, police were called to the Citronelle home to report Dearman trespassing on their property, however, he left before officers arrived to the location.
Shortly after, Dearman returned to the property, gained access to the home and attacked the five victims while they were sleeping. Several weapons were used and multiple firearms were later recovered at the crime scene.
After the attacks, Dearman forced Lester and her infant into his vehicle to travel to his father’s home in Mississippi. Dearman, along with his father, went to authorities to turn himself in, while Lester went to Citronelle Police to give her account of what had happened.
When investigators arrived to the scene of the murders, they found one of the most disturbing crimes scenes they had ever seen.
“I’ve been doing this for 27 years and I would say that I’ve seen a couple of triple homicides, but not five in one location,” said Captain Paul Burch of the MCSO.
Due to the horrific nature of the crime scene, authorities predict to be on site for days.
With one of the victims being five months pregnant, Dearman will be charged with six counts of murder.
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