Kim Hamil, mother of James Wilson, holds a portrait of her son with his family, after an arraignment hearing outside the Tiptonville City Hall Court in Tiptonville, Tenn., on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Wilson and the mother of his child Adrianna Williams, 20, were found dead along with two other relatives in a wooded area in northwest Tennessee on July 29.
Austin Drummond is escorted to a police cruiser after his arraignment hearing inside the Lake County Courthouse in Tiptonville, Tenn., on Thursday, August. 7, 2025.

Prosecutors in Tennessee plan to seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing four members of a family, including the parents of an infant who was found alive miles from where her slain relatives were discovered, officials said.

Prosecutors announced their intent on Aug. 7 when 28-year-old suspect Austin Drummond appeared by video before a judge in Tiptonville, a quiet town in northwest Tennessee where the slain family members were found.

Drummond was arrested two days earlier following a weeklong manhunt. He faces several charges in connection with the July 29 killings, including four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At the hearing, Judge Drew Cook said he would enter a "not guilty" plea on Drummond's behalf because he didn't have a lawyer. He then appointed one to represent him in the case. The attorney, Bryan Huffman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Drummond, who has served time in prison for robbery and has been previously charged with attempted murder, was denied bond and will remain in custody. His next court appearance is set for Aug. 14.

Infant abandoned, family dead in the woods

The case began after a 7-month-old infant girl was found sitting in a car seat in a stranger's front yard near Tigrett, a community in Dyer County, on July 29.

Investigators in Lake County soon found the infant's family in grave circumstances. Her parents, uncle and grandmother were found with fatal gunshot wounds in a wooded area in Tiptonville, roughly 40 miles from where the infant was discovered.

The victims were the infant's parents, James Matthew Wilson, 21, and Adrianna Williams, 20; Williams' brother Braydon Williams, 15; and the Williams' mother, 38-year-old Cortney Rose.

While the motive for the killings remains unclear, District Attorney Danny Goodman said Drummond knew the victims and that his girlfriend is related to Rose, the infant's grandmother. Authorities also previously said Drummond targeted the four victims.

Investigators also charged three people with aiding Drummond after the killings: Dearrah Sanders, 23; Tanaka Brown, 29; and Giovonte Thomas, 29.

'A whole family gone': Family speaks out after hearing

Outside the courtroom after the arraignment, family members of the victims said they were glad Drummond was denied bond.

"He took them all," said Kim Hamil, the mother of James Wilson. "It's not just the loss of our son, it's the loss of our daughter-in-law, of Braydon, of everybody, of Cortney. It's a whole family gone. It's unbelievable."

James Wilson's father, Matt Wilson, described him as a good parent, a good brother and "a damn good son."

Throughout the hearing, Hamil embraced a large portrait that shows her son, her daughter-in-law, and their infant child smiling at the camera.

"We know that we're going to get justice for our kids and for this whole family," she said outside the courthouse.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prosecutors to seek death penalty in Tennessee quadruple murder case

Reporting by Christopher Cann and Sarah Best, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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