Nearly ten years after a double homicide, a magnet fisherman found a gun and victim IDs in a river, which helped prosecutors in Georgia secure a murder conviction.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ronnie Jay Towns, 38, entered a guilty plea to two murder charges on Monday and was given two consecutive life terms by a judge. After spotting an ad on Craig’s List, he deceived Bud Runion, 69, and his wife, June Runion, 66, into traveling three hours from their home in Cobb County to Telfair County in January 2015 to purchase a 1966 Ford Mustang. However, it was a hoax to loot and kill them, and there was no car.
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A victim impact statement was given by one of Runi’s daughters during the sentencing hearing on Monday. She talked of her parents’ generosity: According to the AJC, they picked up stranded strangers and transported them home during a winter storm shortly before they passed away, and they gave away a large number of bicycles to kids over the Christmas season.
According to reports, Brittany Patterson stated that’s who my parents were. We lost that person. My parents weren’t just any Cobb County residents. They served the community and God with pride.
According to the AJC, towns did not address the court and hardly recognized the victims’ relatives.
Crime and LawAccording to a news statement from the GBI, on April 14, a magnet fisherman was looking for objects in Horse Creek on Old Prison Camp Road in McRae-Helena when he caught a.22 caliber rifle. Two days later, the same individual was still magnetizing fish in the same location when they discovered a bag with the Runions’ credit cards, driver’s licenses, and phone.
As a result of the findings, on April 17 and two days later, the GBI executed two search warrants at a residence on Webb Cemetery Road, approximately 4 miles away. According to reports, agents found evidence during both searches, which will be sent to the crime lab for additional examination. How the magnet fisherman’s discoveries led them to the house was not mentioned in the press release.
When the Runions failed to show up to watch their grandchildren, family members began to worry for their safety, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV. Four days after the family reported them missing, police in Telfair County discovered their SUV and their remains in a pond. Investigators discovered that prior to their disappearance, the couple and Towns had a phone conversation.
Towns was taken into custody by police shortly after the killings, but the case took a long time since the initial charge was overturned, which resulted in appeals and a second indictment in 2020, according to Macon CBS affiliate WMAZ. The epidemic then struck, leading to further delays.
The Runions were married for 38 years, based on their obituaries. The Forever Grateful Ministries was created by Bud Runion.
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