More than a decade after three people were found dead inside a car that had been abandoned along the side of a Georgia highway, authorities have arrested four suspects, including an assistant principal at a middle school in Alabama. The suspects have been charged with malice murder for allegedly torturing and killing the victims before their bodies were placed in a car that was discovered near Union City. The victims, Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quinones King, and Rodney Cottrell, were residents of Montgomery, Alabama.
The murders took place in Clayton County, just south of Atlanta, and the victims were lured to a residence where they were forced inside at gunpoint. They were later loaded into a Dodge Charger and taken to Fulton County, where they were beaten and strangled to death. The investigation into the crimes has been ongoing, and recent indictments were secured from a grand jury, leading to the arrests of the four suspects in three different states between Wednesday and Friday of last week. Keante Harris, one of the suspects, is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham.
Walter Gonsoulin, superintendent of Jefferson County Schools, confirmed that Harris is employed as an assistant principal at McAdory Middle School and stated that the charges against him do not appear to be related to his employment with the school district. Harris has been placed on paid administrative leave while the district gathers more information about the situation. The school district has stated that they will act according to their policy as more facts become available. CBS News reached out to the school district for additional information but did not receive an immediate reply.
The indictment charged Keante Harris, Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris, and Darrell Harris with three counts each of malice murder in connection with the 11-year-old killings. The victims were found inside a 2010 Dodge Charger along Interstate 85 near Union City. Authorities say the victims were tortured and killed before being placed in the vehicle, with evidence indicating that they had been beaten and strangled to death. The suspects were arrested on fugitive from justice warrants, and the investigation into the murders has been ongoing, leading to the recent indictments and arrests of the suspects.
The victims, Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quinones King, and Rodney Cottrell, were residents of Montgomery, Alabama, and were lured to a residence in Jonesboro before being forced into a vehicle at gunpoint. They were taken to Fulton County, where they were killed before their bodies were discovered in the abandoned car near Union City. The arrests of the four suspects, including an assistant principal at a middle school in Alabama, have brought some closure to a case that had remained unsolved for over a decade. The ongoing investigation into the murders continues as authorities work to bring justice to the victims and their families.
