Decade-old Murder Case Solved: Arrests Made in 2013 Triple Homicide, Including Alabama Principal

An Alabama middle school assistant principal was among four men arrested in connection with a 2013 triple homicide that went unsolved for almost a decade.

According to a statement from the Clayton County Sheriff, the investigation began on January 13, 2013, when three bodies were discovered in an abandoned Dodge Charger in Union City, Georgia. Police say the victims were tortured and murdered after being lured to a home in Jonesboro, Georgia, at gunpoint. The trio was then allegedly loaded into the Charger, and their bodies were discovered.

According to the statement, the sheriff’s office got warrants to arrest four individuals on May 8 after they were each accused on three charges of malice murder. According to the sheriff’s office, the four were arrested in three states over 48 hours.

Keante Harris, one of the four males apprehended, is currently being jailed in Jefferson County, Alabama, on a fugitive from justice warrant. According to his LinkedIn profile, Harris is an assistant principal for the Jefferson County school district and has been working in education since at least 2006.

Harris works at McAdory Middle School, according to a statement from administrator Walter Gonsoulin.

“We were informed that Mr. Keante Harris was arrested Wednesday afternoon. At the moment, we are currently gathering information about the intricacies of this case,” Gonsoulin stated in the reported statement. “However, early indications suggest that the charges are unrelated to this individual’s employment with Jefferson County Schools.” According to customary process, Mr. Harris has been placed on paid administrative leave. As further information becomes available, we will follow our district’s policy.

It is unclear whether Harris or any of the other three suspects have been legally charged. The Clayton County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to a request for additional information from PEOPLE.

Police did not explain how they linked the four suspects to the crime.

According to reports, Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quinones King, and Rodney Cottrell, all from Montgomery, Alabama, were killed in 2013. Additional information was not immediately available.