TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three people charged with helping a Tennessee man accused of fatally shooting four people are suspected of providing him with shelter, phones and rides as he evaded authorities after the killings, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Austin Robert Drummond made a brief court appearance before a judge by video feed Thursday in the rural city of Tiptonville in west Tennessee.
Drummond has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found abandoned in a home’s front yard. A weeklong search for Drummond ended Aug. 5 in Jackson, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southeast of the crime scene in Tiptonville.
Lake County District Attorney Danny Goodman has said prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Drummond is convicted of first-degree murder at trial.
Also appearing in court by video feed were Tanaka Brown and Dearrah Sanders, who have been charged with being accessories after the fact. Both have pleaded not guilty. A third person charged with being an accessory after the fact, Giovonte Thomas, did not make a court appearance Thursday. It is not immediately clear if Thomas has entered a plea.
Judge Andrew Cook set a Sept. 4 preliminary hearing for Drummond to determine if there is enough evidence to refer his case to a grand jury. Drummond's lawyer declined comment after the hearing.
Cook also scheduled preliminary hearings for Brown and Sanders on Sept. 12.
After the hearing, the district attorney told reporters that those charged with helping Drummond are suspected of giving him phones, clothes, shelter and rides.
Goodman did not disclose a motive for the killings. In a previous hearing, Drummond told the judge that he wants a speedy trial, but Goodman said it could be a year or more before Drummond could face a jury.
“It's a serious matter,” Goodman said, adding later that “there's a lot of evidence in the case to pull together.”
The killings and the ensuing search set rural areas of west Tennessee on edge for days.
Officers responded to a call of an infant in a car seat being dropped at a “random individual’s front yard” on July 29 in the Tigrett area, roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Tiptonville, the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office said.
Then, investigators in neighboring Lake County reported that four people had been found dead from gunshot wounds in Tiptonville. Officials determined they were the baby’s parents, James M. Wilson, 21, and Adrianna Williams, 20; Williams’ brother, Braydon Williams, 15; and their mother, Cortney Rose, 38.
The four victims hadn't been seen since the night before their bodies were discovered in a wooded area, Goodman has said. Drummond is believed to have targeted them, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.
Goodman has said Drummond’s girlfriend is the sister of the infant’s grandmother.
Drummond has served prison time for robbing a convenience store and threatening to go after jurors. He was also charged with the attempted murder of a prison guard while behind bars, and was out on bond at the time of the killings, Goodman said.
With a population of about 3,400 people, Tiptonville is located near the Mississippi River and scenic Reelfoot Lake.
This photo provided by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 shows Austin Drummond, moments after having been taken into custody. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation via AP)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Madison Keys planned to walk into the player tunnel at Rod Laver Arena in a quiet moment when nobody was watching, and take a photo of her name listed with the other champions at the Australian Open.
After beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final at Melbourne Park to win her first Grand Slam title, Keys pictured the moment she'd return to the stadium for the first time as defending champion.
“I’ve always kind of remembered walking through that tunnel and seeing all the names,” she said Friday, two days before the first major of the year starts. “It was a little bit of a pinch-me moment where I was like, ‘Wow, I’m going to be up there.’
“I have not seen my name in the tunnel yet. I hope I can go in there when there’s no one else so I can take a picture and send it to my mom."
Before facing the media in Melbourne, she couldn't help but notice other evidence at the venue of her breakthrough triumph.
“There’s a really cool photo of me holding the trophy," Keys said. “Getting to see those, it’s something you dream of in your career.”
The 30-year-old American said it was easy to look back almost 12 months and think everything worked to perfection, but "also you think about, ‘Wow, I almost lost.’
"I was match point down. So many three-set matches. There were some ugly matches. I think it kind of just makes everything a little bit better just because it wasn’t issue-free.”
Keys won a tune-up tournament in Adelaide in 2025 before ending Sabalenka's 20-match winning streak at the Australian Open. At 29, she was the tournament's oldest first-time women's champion. She also set a record as the player with the longest gap between their first two Grand Slam finals — her first was the 2017 U.S. Open.
The Australian Open victory launched her into a Top 5 ranking the following month. After the breakthrough, though, she was ousted in the French Open quarterfinals, the third round at Wimbledon and had a nervy first-round exit at the U.S. Open. At the season-ending WTA Finals, she lost two group-stage matches.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, admitted Friday that the loss here to Keys last year was tough.
“She played incredible and overplayed me. Took me a little time to recover,” she said. “We had matches after that. I worked on my mistake on those matches.
“Going to this AO, I’m not really focusing on that last year result but of course I would like to do just a little bit better than I did last year!”
Sabalenka, who beat Keys in the quarterfinals last week en route to the Brisbane International title, plays her first-round match Sunday night against Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, a wild-card entry from France.
Keys also lost in the quarterfinals in her title defense in Adelaide earlier this week. But she's taking it in her stride as she prepares for another career first: defending a major title.
“Even though I’ve been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as that,” she said. “I’m really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts."
Seeded ninth and on the other side of the draw from Sabalenka, Keys is scheduled to open against Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine.
“Yes, I’m sure going on court I’m going to be very nervous," she said, "but I don’t think I’ve ever walked on court first round of a Grand Slam and not been nervous.”
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus waves to the crowd after winning the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Madison Keyes of the United States reacts during press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
