Four People, Including an Assistant Principal, Have Been Detained in a Cold Case Triple Murder

Four suspects have been arrested more than ten years after three people were found dead inside a car that had been left on the side of a Georgia highway. An assistant principal at a middle school near Birmingham, Alabama, has been taken into custody, according to CBS affiliate WAKA-TV.

In the beginning of this month, a group of people who decide if someone should be charged with a crime, called a grand jury, accused a man named Keante Harris of three counts of malice murder. They believe he was involved in the killings that happened 11 years ago. The indictment also accused three other suspects, Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris, and Darrell Harris, of three counts each of malice murder, according to a statement by Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen.

The murders occurred in Clayton County, which is located just south of Atlanta. The investigation found that all three victims were tortured and killed before their bodies were placed in a 2010 Dodge Charger. The car was later found near Union City, which is nearby, along Interstate 85. The bodies of the victims were discovered inside the vehicle on January 13, 2013, as stated by Allen.

“The victims were tricked into going to a house on Magnolia Drive in Jonesboro. Once they arrived, they were forced inside the house at gunpoint.” The sheriff said that later, they were put into the back seat of a Dodge Charger and driven to Fulton County.

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According to WAKA-TV, the victims were killed by being beaten and strangled. The individuals who were identified are Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quinones King, and Rodney Cottrell. They all live in Montgomery, Alabama, according to the station.

Allen stated that the Clayton County Police Department and the district attorney’s office are still investigating the murders. They have recently obtained indictments from the grand jury. Last week, between Wednesday and Friday, the police arrested four suspects in three different states. They were arrested on fugitive from justice warrants. Harris is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, according to booking records.

Walter Gonsoulin, who is in charge of Jefferson County Schools, the school district where Harris works, confirmed that Harris is the assistant principal at McAdory Middle School. This was stated in a statement to WAKA-TV.

“We were informed that Mr. Keante Harris was arrested on Wednesday afternoon,” said Gonsoulin. “Currently, we are still collecting information about the details of this situation. However, it seems that the charges against this person are not connected to their job at Jefferson County Schools. Mr. Harris has been put on paid administrative leave, which is a normal procedure. We will follow our district’s policy as we receive more information.

CBS News reached out to the school district for additional information, but did not receive a response right away.