November 2, 2025 • 58 mins
In July 2025, horror struck Tiptonville, Tennessee, when four family members—James Wilson, Adriana Williams, Braden Williams, and Courtney Rose—were found shot dead in the woods. Hours earlier, a baby, the daughter of James and Adriana, was found left alone in a car seat on a stranger's lawn. Everyone was gone, except the baby. The prime suspect: Austin Robert Drummond (28), a brutal ex-convict who had recently been released from prison and was the boyfriend of one of the victims' sisters. The case revealed the story of Drummond's illicit relationship with Caitlyn Speed, a former prison guard who risked everything for the man—even bringing her own daughter to live with Drummond.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am innocent of puranzars with you, sir, a man,
an innocent man, But I am not guilty with this Chardenly.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
It started with a baby in a car seat, alone,
abandoned and left on a stranger's lawn like a forgotten
suit case. It ended with four bodies hidden in the
Tennessee woods, bullet riddled and silent, all of them gone,
but the infant, the people closest to her, the ones
who were supposed to protect her, now scattered lifeless on
(00:28):
a forest floor. Why would any one spare the baby
and slaughter her entire family before we dive in. Please
consider dropping alike and subscribing. It helps spread these stories
so more people can hear them. On the surface, this
family looked ordinary. James Matthew Wilson was only twenty one,
(00:49):
his partner Adriana Williams, just twenty. They were young parents,
barely out of their teenage years, raising a daughter together
in rural Tennessee. They lived in Tiptonville, a tiny town
where neighbors waved from porches and the loudest sound most
days is the hum of a lawnmower. Adrianna's mother, Courtney Rose,
(01:10):
and her younger brother, Braden Williams lived near by, helping
with the baby and doing their best to build a
life that was stable, quiet, and grounded in love. They
were a close knit household, three generations under one roof,
bound by loyalty and blood. However, on July twenty ninth,
that world collapsed. At around three eleven p m. A
(01:33):
woman in Tigrete, roughly forty miles from Tiptonville, discovered a
baby girl, unharmed, strapped into a car seat, sitting in
her front yard. No parent, no note, just a child
and a mystery. Officers immediately began checking missing persons reports,
but nothing matched. There were no car accidents, no break ins,
(01:55):
no calls of concern about a baby. For hours, she
was simply the girl with no name. It wasn't until
nightfall that the case took a darker turn. By around
eleven that same evening, a search led authorities to Carrington Road,
a stretch of forested farmland near Tiptonville. It was there,
among the trees and weeds that they made the discovery.
(02:18):
Four bodies, shot execution style and dumped without ceremony. James,
Adriana Braden Courtney. The entire family except for the baby.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
This is a very tight knit community and very loving community,
and something for this to happen is just shocking and
just hurtful and lie anybody who would want to do
something like that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Why were they killed? Who did this? And why was
the baby left alive? The questions were almost too big
to answer in one night, but investigators already had a
name in mind, a man with a violent history and
a personal connection to the victims, Austin Robert Drummond at
twenty eight. Summond was no stranger to the justice system.
(03:03):
He'd been locked up for over a decade, sentenced as
a teenager for armed robbery. But that wasn't all inside
prison walls. He'd been accused of attempting to murder another inmate.
He allegedly threatened a juror. He was, according to prosecutors,
a confirmed member of the Vice Lord's Street gang. In total,
(03:24):
he'd racked up more than two dozen disciplinary violations behind bars,
including possession of weapons. So how did a man like
that end up in the heart of this family's life.
The answer to that was because of Caitlin's speed. Caitlin
was a former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional complex,
the same prison where Drummond was serving his sentence. At
(03:46):
some point that professional line blurred. She was accused of
smuggling him contraband, phones, snacks, liquor, and maybe even more.
The relationship cost her everything. She was fired in October
Hober of the previous year, and not long after she
left her old life behind and moved in with Drummond,
(04:07):
with her four year old daughter beside her. Caitlin's speed
invited Austin Drummond into the one place most sacred, her home,
her family. He had just been released from prison after
spending nearly a decade behind bars, and to many, he
appeared to be a man trying to turn the page.
She introduced him to her sister, Courtney Rose, her niece
(04:28):
Adriana Williams, her nephew Braden Williams, and even her own mother,
and at first there was no obvious reason to worry,
no red flags that screamed danger. Austin acted kind, smiled often,
and seemed genuinely at peace. To the outside world, it
looked like a man trying to rebuild his life peace
(04:50):
by piece, with a woman who stood by him and
a family that welcomed him. He didn't come across as
cold or dangerous. Family members even described him as fun, gentle,
good with kids, someone who could crack a joke in
the kitchen or lend a helping hand when needed. His
Facebook page was filled with pictures of what looked like
(05:10):
a normal, happy life, selfies with Caitlin, posts about second chances,
and captions that hinted at gratitude for his new found freedom.
It was the image of redemption, of a man who
had paid his dues and was ready to walk the
straight path. But not everyone was convinced. There was one
person who refused to be fooled by the carefully crafted image,
(05:34):
one person who had every reason to be worried from
the very beginning. Caitlyn's ex boyfriend, the father of her child.
He had known Caitlin before the chaos. He had seen
her fall for Austin while she was still working as
a corrections officer inside the very prison where Drummond was
locked up, and when she lost her job, packed her
(05:54):
things and moved her daughter in with Drummond. Just days
after his release. The ex boyfriend had seen enough. He
didn't stay silent. He turned to social media and made
his feelings known in a raw and angry Facebook post
that would later feel like a gut wrenching prophecy. In
that post, he recounted how Caitlin had allegedly been fired
(06:15):
for engaging in a relationship with an inmate, Drummond, while
working at the prison, and then, after all that, she
moved in with the very man she once guarded, not
just alone but with their daughter. Caitlin Speed Northwest called
me and told me about you efing Austin Drummond in
there while you were working, and that you were terminated,
(06:37):
he wrote, Then the day he gets out, you move
off with my daughter and not let her speak to
me since she said he was mean to her. He
didn't hold back. He called Drummond a scumbag, someone unfit
to be around children. He warned Caitlin that she was
exposing their daughter to danger, even going as far as
to post a photo of Drummond alongside a caption that read,
(06:59):
this is the low life you have my daughter living with.
To many, it may have looked like the bitter outcry
of a jilted X, but in hindsight, it was a
flashing red light ignored. This wasn't about jealousy, This was
about fear. A desperate plea from a father who knew
that something was very, very wrong, but no one listened,
(07:21):
or if they did, they didn't act. Drummond meanwhile, continued
to play the role of the redeemed. He went on
trips with Caitlin. They visited Nashville within days of his release.
They posted photos and gave the impression that everything was fine.
It wasn't. Something was boiling beneath the surface, and by
the time it erupted, it was already too late. And
(07:44):
still the biggest question loomed, why spare the baby? Some
law enforcement officials quietly referred to it as an act
of mercy, a rare glimpse of compassion from a man
otherwise consumed by violence. Others believe it was more calculated.
Was the child spared as a twisted message to Caitlin,
(08:05):
a living, breathing reminder of what he took and what
she lost. Investigators quickly began to piece things together. Cell
Phone data placed Drummond near the murder site on the
night of the killings. A white audi A three believed
to be his, was found abandoned in Jackson. Surveillance video
captured a man in camouflage clutching a rifle trying to
(08:27):
break into a nearby church. He was desperate, he was armed,
and he was on the run.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
We're following a manhunt that is going on as we
speak in Tennessee. I want you to get a good
look at this guy. His name is Austin Robert Drummond,
and he's wanted in connection to the killings of four people.
Law enforcement says he is armed and dangerous. He's accused
of killing these four family members this week. Their bodies
(08:53):
were found forty five minutes north, hours after police found
this baby alive but abandons still in their car seat,
left on the front lawn of a stranger's home alone.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
The man hunt stretched on for nearly a week. US
Marshall's Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agents and local law enforcement
flooded the area. A thirty seven thousand dollars reward was offered,
Tips poured in, and sightings came in from all directions. Still,
he managed to evade capture until August fifth, twenty twenty five.
(09:27):
In the woods off Pipkin Road near Jackson, a man
named Ricardo Contreras was painting a house when he heard
rustling behind the tree line. At first he thought it
was a deer, but then he saw a man, sweating, dirty,
hunched down in camouflage. It was him. Contreras picked up
the phone, called nine one one, and within minutes the
(09:48):
man hunt was over. Drummond didn't go down fighting, he
didn't shoot, he didn't run. He was just done. Police
found him with multiple weapons and gear stuffed into a backpack,
but by then it was too late. The murders had
already been committed, the baby had already been left behind,
and four members of a family gone. What could make
(10:11):
someone so consumed by rage that they kill everyone in
the room but leave the smallest one alive. Now, before
he became the face of a man hunt, Austin Drummond
was something far more seductive. He was someone's second chance.
Caitlin's speed didn't just fall for an inmate. She risked everything,
her career, her family's trust, and ultimately their lives. Caitlyn
(10:36):
was thirty one, and, as mentioned earlier, she was a
former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.
It was one of those jobs that required vigilance and
emotional detachment, but somehow lines were crossed and maybe he
made her feel seen in a way others hadn't. What
started as flirtation grew into rule breaking, smuggled snacks, entraband phones.
(11:01):
Eventually it was enough to cost her the badge and
get her fired. But there was a darker side to
this forbidden connection, a secret world that never made it
into the sweet family photos. Behind prison walls, Drummond was
living a life of tense luxury. According to reports, his
cell was stocked like a bachelor's condo, bottles of alcohol
(11:23):
stashed in plain sight, streaming devices, and a gaming console
reportedly a Nintendo switch flickered under dim overhead lights, more
entertainment options than a typical day room. He was flaunting
perks that shouldn't have been there, casting a spotlight on
failings within the system that had let contraband flow freely.
During one recorded confrontation inside the prison yard, a fight
(11:47):
that guards barely contained, Drummond stood towering and unbothered as
other inmates circled him. It wasn't bravado. It was confidence
born from a secure, cushioned existence that should have been
under scrutiny. The contradiction is chilling. Here was a man
who allegedly received favoritism behind bars, playing video games and
(12:09):
sipping liquor while waiting to be released. That surreal normalcy
hid a ticking fuse when he finally walked free in
September of twenty twenty four. He wasn't just an ex convict.
He was a man molded by a system that let
him become comfortable, emboldening him to believe he could defy consequences.
(12:29):
According to verified reports, Caitlin was four months pregnant with
Drummond's child at the time of the murders. Whether that
pregnancy was a source of joy or stress, no one
could say for sure. What was clear was that their
relationship had soured. By late twenty twenty four. Caitlyn's brother
in law called Drummond a low life on social media.
(12:53):
The couple may have split before the murders. Was he enraged, jealous,
desperate to regain control. Whatever the trigger, it unleashed something
monstrous and fortunately he was now caught And for the
very first time, Austin Drummond spoke out.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I am innocent of put on charges with you, sir.
I'm not an innocent man, but I'm not guilty. With
the chargem but I had no reason heard these people.
Two of my girlfriend's familihood became my family. That's a
Adrianna to the hospital to have her baby. I helped
these braid the Dries. Matthews like a little brother to me. Man.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
That call from Austin Drummond changed everything. From behind bars,
he reached out to a local news broadcaster, an unusual
move for someone accused of mass murder, and said, I'm
not innocent, but I'm not guilty. That tiny crack in
his stone wall proclamation split the case wide open. He
(13:50):
claimed he wasn't the killer of Adriana, Braden, James and Courtney,
but then why run his answer. He'd been working as
a confident for law enforcement, an undercover source helping to
bring down corruption inside the prison and surrounding criminal networks.
According to Drummond, his cover was blown on the very
(14:12):
day the murders happened, and fear not guilt sent him running.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
During my time working for them, I have on covered
drug dailayers selling multiple kyot of cocaine, also drug trap
for Chris delivering towns of meth. We identified a dirty
law enforcement and correctional personnel at sat vicefully leadership phone.
I was afraidy, I know, bad things happened. Yeah, I
(14:39):
was afraid that because I was on the format, things
would me, things would go wrong, things would happened to me.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
That bombshell raised more questions than it answered. Was this
just a clever distraction? If he really was an informant,
whom was he working for? Local investigators, the FBI, the
ATF or was it all made up smoke to muddy
the waters. The district attorney refused to comment, saying it
was not the time to reveal confidential details, but the
(15:09):
implication hung in the courtroom. If true, he may have
had enemies waiting in the shadows. Here's what's settled. Drummond
was arraigned and charged with four counts of first degree murder,
aggravated kidnapping, firearms offences, and felon in possession. The state
moved swiftly to revoke two existing bonds totaling hundreds of
(15:29):
thousands in dollars based on the murder charges alone. He
remains held without bond, with prosecutors announcing clearly they will
seek the death penalty. Behind the scenes, investigators have collected
a trove of digital and physical evidence. Cell phone pings
placing Drummond near the Tiptonville crime scene around the time
(15:50):
of the killings, security footage of his white audi A
three abandoned in Jackson, and surveillance video of him in
camouflage with a rifle trying to break into a church.
All this paints a picture of premeditation, pursuit, and evasion.
Yet in court filings, Drummond's defense is building a narrative
(16:11):
of a man trapped between systems and expectations. They've asked
for his prison records, particularly the ones showing his comfort
behind bars, the liquor, the streaming devices, the video games,
arguing they may reflect manipulation by prison staff or exploitation
of the system's blind spots. They're contesting how that lifestyle
(16:33):
may have warped his emotional capacity and whether he was
ever psychologically evaluated before his release. Meanwhile, three others, Diarra Sanders,
Tanaka Brown, and Jivante Thomas have been indicted for aiding
Drummond post crime. Sanders and Thomas face accessory after the
fact charges. Brown also faces tampering charges. Each has pled
(16:57):
not guilty, and their preliminary hearings are scheduled soon after Drummonds.
If convicted, they could face serious jail time as punishment
for hiding and helping a now notorious fugitive. Beyond the
legal strategies, the community's grief remains raw. Tiptonville residents have
set up memorials crosses with names and ages Adriana twenty,
(17:20):
James twenty one, Braden fifteen, and Courtney thirty eight. A
gofund me campaign raised money for the baby's care and
funeral expenses. Residents speak of a small town shattered, calling
it Tennessee's darkest days, a place where trust was betrayed,
love turned lethal, and justice seem slow to arrive. Drummond's
(17:44):
claims have also sparked public debate. If he truly was
an informant, did that shield him from standard parole procedures,
did it grant him unchecked freedoms behind bars? And if so,
who else should be held accountable. This isn't the only
case where a single survivor walked away from a brutal
family massacre. In a video we covered before, we talked
(18:05):
about the Candy family tragedy, where one young boy was
the only one left alive after the rest of his
family was killed. Hi everyone, it's Teddy. Today we'll be
looking into the twisted case of the Candy family massacre.
(18:25):
Try to imagine the absolute terror a ten year old
boy would have experienced after waking up in the morning
and coming out of his room only to find everyone
in his family dead. Everyone but him, his father, mother,
and three older brothers are all lying in a pool
of their blood. The story we'll be talking about today
(18:46):
is so heartbreaking and frightening and might leave you questioning
if those whom you love the most are truly safe
to be around.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
At this point, I just wish the nightmare would be over.
I wished it was all about dream and that we
would wake up and that they would still be here.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Jonathan Candy's family looked just like any other normal American family.
Some people might even describe them as a fitting image
for the all American family next door. They were a
family of four boys and two parents. Everything looked very
normal in this family. No one would have ever expected
anything strange was going on behind the closed doors of
(19:26):
the Candy family's home.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
I had to see it for myself. I kept asking
Cooper to please snap and text Ethan and has he
seen Ethan today? As he talked to him, and I
was calling Lindsey and I was messaging Dylan, and nobody
would respond.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
They were your all American family.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
This is something I mean.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I could live a hundred thousand lifetimes and never expect
this out of that.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
I could never imagine that ever in my whole entire life,
you know. And I'm still in shock.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Even their neighbors, who saw and interacted with them almost
every day, never would have suspected anything horrible was going
on in the home of the Candy family, who lived
at the end of the cul de Sac. An interview
with the couple back in twenty twenty two about one
of their favorite bakery in Yukon during one Discovering Oklahoma
episode showed the couple to be a young, vibrant, and
(20:19):
happy family.
Speaker 6 (20:21):
I come here twice a week in the morning jiss
for their breakfast burritos, which are by far anything better
than you can get around here. I love the carrot cake.
I don't eat a lot of sweets, even with my
last name, but I love the carrot cake. I like
(20:42):
canola are good.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
It's a tragedy that they are all gone now, leaving
just the youngest son. The darkest part of this story
isn't even the fact that they were all murdered. It
would have been most likely easier and less painful for
everyone to understand if a dangerous and armed man or
someone who just really wanted to hurt the family broke
(21:04):
in during the middle of the night and murdered them
in cold blood. But no, that was not the case.
The darkest part of this story is that the person
who killed the wife and three children and also turned
to kill himself is Jonathan Candy and not any other person.
The man who was meant to be the husband and
(21:25):
father of the wife and children, and who was meant
to support, love and care for them, The same man
that these people looked up to for safety is the
same very person who took away their lives.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
Him and his kids seem like they always got a
long He just was a I don't know, just a
family man. I mean I never expected this. Were just
in total shock. The kids were real friendly. Everybody here
loved the kids. Uh swam here at his house regularly.
(21:58):
They played with my dog.
Speaker 8 (22:00):
How likely we have families down here that the Holi work,
and he'd come over them other lawns and take care
of the family. Anything he needed, he'd be there for you.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Jonathan Candy was a forty two year old man from Yukon, Oklahoma.
He worked as a part time employee at the Paycom Center,
one of Yukon's large arenas used to hold various events
like concerts and sports tournaments. It was another basketball season
and Jonathan Candy had been spending some time working on
the recent NBA games. It was the home game for
(22:30):
the Oklahoma City Thunder and everyone in the area was
excited to see the trophy come home. Although he just
worked part time, his jokes and laughs always brought life
to the arena. Jonathan Candy studied at Bishop mcgwinn's Catholic
High School, and after he graduated, he married his sweetheart,
Lindsay Terry. Lindsay grew up in Prague, Oklahoma. She was
(22:54):
a member of the choir as a young girl, and
she was always full of laughter. Candy was the funny,
goofy guy who loved to make jokes and make everyone laugh,
and Lindsey Terry was the beautiful young lady who loved
to laugh and was eventually swept off her feet by
this goofy guy's charm. And jokes. Their marriage seemed to
go on smoothly even after many years of marriage and
(23:18):
four sons. Jonathan and Lindsey Candy looked happily married. There
was never any report of possible domestic violence or abuse
of any sort. Their children also looked happy and lived
like the average American kid. The Facebook page of the
couple is filled with family photos of happy times, and
anyone scrolling by would believe they were a regular, happy family.
(23:42):
Jonathan always told his relatives and friends about how his
family and children were his entire world. But then on
April twenty second, something no one could have thought or
imagined occurred. The name of the Jonathan's family youngest son
has been withheld for privacy reasons, But what we do
know is that this little boy stepped out of his
(24:04):
room on April twenty second, twenty twenty four, and he
was expecting it to be like any other day. He
didn't expect anything unusual. He slept through the night with
a box van blowing in his direction, so he couldn't
have heard anything going on outside. The only thing he
remembered hearing was the fire alarm that went off during
(24:25):
the night, but he went soundly back to sleep. Right
after that, at around nine o a m. He stepped
out of his room only to find his entire family
in a pool of blood. At nine thirty am on
April twenty second, twenty twenty four, the ten year old
boy called nine one one and told the dispatcher that
he found his entire family dead. Not too long after,
(24:49):
the police arrived at the home of the Candy family
near Southwest twenty ninth Street and check Hall Road. They
entered the house and were shocked by what they saw.
It was nothing short of a massacre. After their inspection,
they saw thirty nine year old Lindsey Candy, who had
been shot and killed. She was murdered along with her sons,
(25:09):
eighteen year old Dylan Candy, fourteen year old Ethan Candy,
and twelve year old Lucas Candy. The suspected killer, forty
two year old Jonathan Candy, was also found dead from
a self inflicted gunshot wound. It didn't take too long
to conclude that this was a case of murder suicide,
but the question on everyone's mind why did this happen?
(25:33):
The sole survivor was the ten year old who made
the call to nine one one. Neighbors on check Hall
Road noticed as ambulance and police vehicles began to pull
up into their neighbour's home. They were confused as to
what might have occurred. After some time of investigation, it
was revealed that the father, Jonathan Candy, allegedly hunted down
(25:54):
and killed his wife and children one by one, except
for the youngest son. An interview with Oklahoma officials revealed
that two of the victim's bodies were found upstairs and
the other two were found downstairs. There were no signs
of a struggle at the crime scene, which adds more
confusion to what went down. In most cases like this one,
(26:16):
it is unusual for the killer to spare just one
person and kill everyone himself. If the intention was murder suicide,
everyone present is usually a casualty. What could have occurred?
Why did Jonathan Candy decide to spare the youngest son.
Is it possible he came to his senses last minute,
(26:37):
or did he have a special relationship with this child? Unfortunately,
these questions might remain unanswered because there's no one to
ask these questions to. The Relatives of the Candy family
realize how hard this would be on the young boy,
and they think it's best to leave him out of
any further investigations in the meantime till then this case
(26:59):
would remain a mystery. One of the officials in charge
of the investigation, doctor Joni Johnston, a clinical and forensic psychologist,
said that the entire scenario was shocking to her. She
has never witnessed a case where a parent murders some
of the children and lets just one live. Friends and
(27:19):
neighbors who saw Jonathan before the murders said everything seemed
just fine to them. There was nothing unusual or out
of place. Jonathan's colleagues specifically mentioned that he was at
the thunder Pelicans playoff game just hours before the tragic
murders occurred. Nobody is sure if there are any warning
signs that the people around the family should have picked
(27:40):
up on. There was no sign of domestic violence, which
is usually a common factor in murder suicide cases. Up
till now, no one can state or rightly speculate the
motive behind the murders. All we know is that there
was possibly an altercation between Jonathan and Lindsay on the
night of the murders. No one knows what their argument
(28:02):
could have been about and why Jonathan decided that the
best way to deal with the situation was to kill
his wife and systemically hunt down and kill three of
his kids. He seemed like a loving and supportive father,
But what would make a father put a bullet through
some of the people he claimed to love the most
in the world.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
But something may have happened. He kills his wife and
several of his kids and then just decides to kill
himself kind of to get out of it.
Speaker 8 (28:29):
One possibility, I mean, there's so many possibilities, and I
think one of them that I thought about is it's
possible that he kills his wife in the heat of
some altercation. They're having some argument and he, for whatever reason,
just loses it, shoots her several times, kills her. And
that is not premeditated, and there is no history of
(28:50):
depression or those things that we're talking about. And then
starts thinking that I can't leave my kids to face this.
You know, I could not bear the thought of my
children know that I murdered their mother, their father is
a murderer, or I am going to kill myself, and
I can't bear the thought of my kids being left
with no parents.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Ongoing investigations are trying to find out if there were
any form of financial crises that the family was going through.
Sometimes financial crises in homes can lead to depression, particularly
to the man who might feel the weight of the
burden on his shoulders. This could result in distorted thinking
and increase the chances of feeling like there's no hope
(29:30):
and no help. Another factor investigators are considering is whether
Jonathan had any form of mental health challenge that he
was so good at hiding and didn't share with anyone.
There's still a form of stigma around seeking help for
mental health challenges, and those who don't end up seeking
help usually end up making terrible mistakes that could affect
(29:53):
their lives and the lives of those they love. Signs
of depression in men are usually different from that in women.
Men might not be able to mentally process well or
vocally express their feelings of depression, so what they do
oftentimes is to isolate themselves, and then they become irritable
and edgy and express anger instead of showing sadness. Families, friends,
(30:18):
and loved ones around them might not understand that these
might be signs of depression and that the person might
have suicidal tendencies. It's quite unfortunate when people don't seek
help for mental health issues on time, because when they
enter a certain stage of depression, they lose all hope
in the world and believe the best thing they can
(30:39):
do is kill themselves and take other people with them.
The actual motive behind the murders is not known, so
for now this remains a mystery to everyone. On Lindsey
Candy's Facebook page, one of her childhood friends, Commie Cruz,
upon hearing the news, shared some details about the friendship
(31:00):
between her and Lindsay. She said that Lindsey and she
were both choristers in church when growing up, and that
they sang side by side with each other in the choir.
She also mentioned that she and Lindsey attended school together
until they both graduated in two thousand two. A particular
memory Commie Cruz shared helped everyone see the bright and
(31:21):
playful nature Lindsay had. She said that as young girls,
she and Lindsey hid in a tree house and fell
asleep there. Their parents couldn't find them, became worried and
called the police. At the end of the day, everyone
laughed about the situation, stating how the girls gave them
a fright of their lives, only to be found asleep
in a tree house. Crews also mentioned that she and
(31:44):
Lindsay had a friendship they could always pick up from
where it left off. She stated how devastated she had
been after hearing the news of the Candy family's death.
She has been unable to imagine or process the entire thing.
Crew said on the Facebook page that Lindsay was so
loved and special to many people. She specifically stated how
(32:05):
fiercely loved Lindsay was by her boys and how she
brought laughter to every conversation and the lives of her parents,
her sister, and their girl group. Dylan Candy was the
first son of Jonathan and Lindsay Candy. He was a
social person who didn't find it hard to make friends,
and it was obvious to everyone that he had a
(32:26):
passion for drumming and music in general. Just last year,
in May twenty twenty three, he graduated from Mustang High School.
He loved playing in the marching band, and he attended
Oklahoma Baptist University during the semester in fall to join
the Bison Brigade. The Bison Brigade was OBU's marching band
(32:46):
and Dylan played their first bass drum. The director of
Athletic Bands at OBU, Brian Stackhouse, mentioned that the only
reason Dylan wasn't leading any section in the band was
because he was a freshman, but he was placed in
the position to play the complex first base because he
was good at playing in the band. Brian Stackhouse said
Dylan was an amazing young man who had a big heart.
(33:09):
He described Dylan as someone happy at all times and
who was always friendly to everyone, regardless of if he
was having a rough day. He was an excellent example
to his peers on what it means to dedicate yourself
to the team, how to work through hard situations, how
to persevere, keep on showing up and give it your
absolute best. Stackhouse recalled that a core memory he had
(33:33):
of Dylan was during band camp when he was told
that he had a solo in the drum line. Dylan
was so happy that he couldn't sit in one place
and he just went on with his day with so
much excitement. Dylan's bandmates were encouraged to support one another
as they dealt with the devastating news of his death.
Dylan's bass drum and uniform would be set up as
(33:56):
a memorial display to honor him and his family. Teen
year old Ethan Candy was the second son of the
Candy family. He was a ninth grade student at Mustang
North Middle School and everyone in school knew him as
this active, athletic young boy who was good at baseball.
Ethan's coach said he was a very energetic and committed
(34:18):
player who had a natural talent for the game and
always played with so much gladness and intensity. He said
Ethan had an inspiring spirit and a smile that could
lighten people's mood. His coach, T. J. Armstrong, was quite
fond of Ethan. He was best friends with his son,
and he believed he brought out the best in his son.
(34:39):
He would usually call him sweet Candy Man. Cooper, Armstrong
and Wyat Livesey. Ethan's best friends, as well as his
other friends, have been unable to fully process the loss
of Ethan. A memorial bench is being set up at
the Mustang Youth Sports Complex to honor his presence in
their lives and the team. Lucas Candy was the youngest
(35:01):
victim of the murders. He was twelve years old and
was a student at Meadowbrook Intermediate. He was always seen
playing around with the other young children during Ethan's soccer practice.
He was full of life and was an active, smart kid.
He would be remembered as a bright, joyful kid who
loved to play outdoors and make new friends. One of
(35:22):
the saddest parts of this tragic story is the fact
that the youngest child and sole survivor of the Candy
family would have to grow up knowing that his entire
family was murdered by his father. At ten years old,
He's already set to face a future where he grows
up without his immediate family, no dad, no mum, no siblings.
(35:45):
In just one night, his entire life changed and those
whom he called family were no more. He might grow
up needing closure of what happened, and sadly, might not
be able to find an answer. This is a burden
too heavy to be placed on a ten year old
child with his entire future ahead of him. He has
(36:06):
been placed in the care of extended family members and
people in the community are coming together to show him
as much support as possible to help him deal with
this difficult reality. Social workers have been assigned to work
closely with the family to make sure he receives every
necessary emotional and psychological support. A go Fundme has been
(36:28):
set up for him, and people have been encouraged to
give as much as they can to assist with his upkeep,
education and future needs. The support that has been received
so far from the community has been very heartwarming and overwhelming,
proving to the only surviving Candy Sun and their other
family members that they are not alone in these painful times.
(36:52):
No one ever saw this coming. This is one reason
why the news is so shocking to those who knew
the family. At the local station KAF, Jonathan's family released
a statement where they expressed how truly confused and devastated
they were. They said they have so many questions they
won't ever have answers to. One of Candy's family neighbors,
(37:14):
sixty eight year old Michael Bircham, said that it's hard
for him to believe that his neighbors are no more
and that he already misses them. Another neighbor, Brian Graham,
mentioned how handy and helpful Jonathan was around the neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (37:28):
T J.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Armstrong, Ethan's coach, said he chooses to remember Jonathan Candy
as that great guy. He always knew him as someone
who was always thankful and was always giving hugs. His wife,
Rnda Armstrong, who had known the Candy family for over
three years, said that whenever she went to their house
or they came over, she never could stop smiling and laughing.
(37:52):
They could make her forget about her bad day at
work or her life struggles the moment she saw their smiles,
she said. Lindsey was always at Ethan's Bay baseball game
with the loudest cheer as they played the games. Everyone
who knew them saw them as a kind, sweet and
happy family, which made the idea of what happened to
them even harder to believe. Investigators are trying to do
(38:14):
a thorough search to find clues of whatever might have
led up to Jonathan's drastic actions. They are trying to
examine his interactions with friends and family to identify any
possibility of a poor mental state, but because there have
been no previous pointers to poor mental health, it has
been particularly frustrating to figure out a clear motive behind
(38:36):
his actions. However, authorities are using this incident as an
avenue to inform people about the importance of seeking help
in any case of mental health issues. They emphasize the
fact that there is a need to break every stigma
connected with seeking help. Jonathan Candy's case just goes further
to show how those who seem happy and all right
(38:58):
on the outside could be dealing with some deep inner trauma.
Everyone is going through one thing or the other, so
we need to learn to be compassionate with people we
meet and take some time to connect and talk to
our family and friends to ensure there is no build
up of negative emotion. Authorities have offered to help people
who might be struggling to process their emotions or the
(39:20):
news of Candy's family deeth by giving them access to
support groups and counseling services. This seems like an absolute nightmare.
Everyone wishes they would just wake up from. The Candy
family were loved by many and would forever be dear
in their hearts. As family and friends grieve the death
of Jonathan, Lindsey, Dylan Ethan, and Lucas Candy, they also
(39:45):
realize that the priority at a time like this is
to ensure the survivor of the Candy family receives as
much support and love as possible. We've come to the
end of today's episode, Stay tuned for more stories of
them the most twisted cases ever. Don't leave without hitting
the subscribe button. If you haven't already and liking this video,
(40:07):
thanks see you in the next video.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I'm innocent of put on chars with your sir. I'm
i an innocent man, but I'm not guilty with the chars.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
It started with a baby in a car seat, alone,
abandoned and left on a stranger's lawn like a forgotten suitcase.
It ended with four bodies hidden in the Tennessee woods,
bullet riddled and silent, all of them gone, but the infant.
The people closest to her, the ones who were supposed
to protect her, now scattered lifeless on a forest floor.
(40:48):
Why would anyone spare the baby and slaughter her entire
family before we dive in. Please consider dropping a like
and subscribing. It helps spread these stories so more people
can hear them. On the surface, this family looked ordinary.
James Matthew Wilson was only twenty one, his partner Adriana Williams,
(41:09):
just twenty. They were young parents, barely out of their
teenage years, raising a daughter together in rural Tennessee. They
lived in Tiptonville, a tiny town where neighbors waved from
porches and the loudest sound most days is the hum
of a lawnmower. Adriana's mother, Courtney Rose, and her younger
brother Braden Williams lived nearby, helping with the baby and
(41:32):
doing their best to build a life that was stable, quiet,
and grounded in love. They were a close knit household,
three generations under one roof, bound by loyalty and blood. However,
on July twenty ninth, that world collapsed. At around three
eleven PM, a woman in Tigret, roughly forty miles from Tiptonville,
(41:55):
discovered a baby girl, unharmed, strapped into a car seat,
sitting in her front yard. No parent, no note, just
a child and a mystery. Officers immediately began checking missing
persons reports, but nothing matched. There were no car accidents,
no break ins, no calls of concern about a baby.
(42:15):
For hours, she was simply the girl with no name.
It wasn't until nightfall that the case took a darker turn.
By around eleven that same evening, a search led authorities
to Carrington Road, a stretch of forested farmland near Tiptonville.
It was there among the trees and weeds that they
made the discovery. Four bodies, shot execution style and dumped
(42:39):
without ceremony, James, Adriana, Braden Courtney, the entire family except
for the baby.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
This is a very tight knit community and very loving community,
and something for this to happen, it's just shocking and
just hurtful and lie anybody who woul want to do
something like that.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
Why were they killed? Who did this? And why was
the baby left alive? The questions were almost too big
to answer in one night, but investigators already had a
name in mind, a man with a violent history and
a personal connection to the victims. Austin Robert Drummond. At
twenty eight, Drummond was no stranger to the justice system.
(43:20):
He'd been locked up for over a decade, sentenced as
a teenager for armed robbery. But that wasn't all inside
prison walls. He'd been accused of attempting to murder another
inmate he allegedly threatened a juror. He was, according to prosecutors,
a confirmed member of the Vice Lord's Street gang. In total,
(43:41):
he'd racked up more than two dozen disciplinary violations, behind bars,
including possession of weapons. So how did a man like
that end up in the heart of this family's life.
The answer to that was because of Caitlin's speed. Caitlin
was a former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional Complex,
the same prison where Drummond was serving his sentence. At
(44:04):
some point that professional line blurred. She was accused of
smuggling him contraband, phones, snacks, liquor, and maybe even more.
The relationship cost her everything. She was fired in October
of the previous year, and not long after, she left
her old life behind and moved in with Drummond, with
(44:25):
her four year old daughter beside her. Caitlin's speed invited
Austin Drummond into the one place most sacred, her home,
her family. He had just been released from prison after
spending nearly a decade behind bars, and to many, he
appeared to be a man trying to turn the page.
She introduced him to her sister, Courtney Rose, her niece
(44:46):
Adriana Williams, her nephew Braden Williams, and even her own mother,
and at first there was no obvious reason to worry,
no red flags that screamed danger. Austin acted kind, smile,
miled often, and seemed genuinely at peace. To the outside world,
it looked like a man trying to rebuild his life,
(45:07):
peace by piece, with a woman who stood by him
and a family that welcomed him. He didn't come across
as cold or dangerous. Family members even described him as funny, gentle,
good with kids, someone who could crack a joke in
the kitchen or lend a helping hand when needed. His
Facebook page was filled with pictures of what looked like
(45:28):
a normal, happy life, selfies with Caitlin, posts about second chances,
and captions that hinted at gratitude for his new found freedom.
It was the image of redemption, of a man who
had paid his dues and was ready to walk the
straight path. But not everyone was convinced. There was one
person who refused to be fooled by the carefully crafted image,
(45:52):
one person who had every reason to be worried from
the very beginning. Caitlin's ex boyfriend, the father of her child.
He had known Caitlin before the chaos. He had seen
her fall for Austin while she was still working as
a corrections officer inside the very prison where Drummond was
locked up, and when she lost her job, packed her
(46:12):
things and moved her daughter in with Drummond. Just days
after his release. The ex boyfriend had seen enough. He
didn't stay silent. He turned to social media and made
his feelings known in a raw and angry Facebook post
that would later feel like a gut wrenching prophecy. In
that post, he recounted how Caitlin had allegedly been fired
(46:33):
for engaging in a relationship with an inmate, Drummond, while
working at the prison, and then, after all that, she
moved in with the very man she once guarded, not
just alone but with their daughter. Caitlin's speed Northwest called
me and told me about you effing Austin Drummond in
there while you were working, and that you were terminated,
(46:54):
he wrote. Then the day he gets out, you move
off with my daughter and not let her speak to
me since she said he was mean to her. He
didn't hold back. He called Drummond a scumbag, someone unfit
to be around children. He warned Caitlin that she was
exposing their daughter to danger, even going as far as
to post a photo of Drummond alongside a caption that read,
(47:17):
this is the low life you have my daughter living with.
To many, it may have looked like the bitter outcry
of a jilted X, but in hindsight, it was a
flashing red light ignored. This wasn't about jealousy. This was
about fear, a desperate plea from a father who knew
that something was very, very wrong, But no one listened,
(47:39):
or if they did, they didn't act. Drummond meanwhile, continued
to play the role of the redeemed. He went on
trips with Caitlin. They visited Nashville within days of his release.
They posted photos and gave the impression that everything was fine.
It wasn't. Something was boiling beneath the surface, and by
the time it erupted, it was already too late. And
(48:02):
still the biggest question loomed, Why spare the baby? Some
law enforcement officials quietly referred to it as an act
of mercy, a rare glimpse of compassion from a man
otherwise consumed by violence. Others believed it was more calculated.
Was the child spared as a twisted message to Caitlin,
(48:23):
a living, breathing reminder of what he took and what
she lost? Investigators quickly began to piece things together. Cell
Phone data placed Drummond near the murder site. On the
night of the killings, a white Audi A three believed
to be his was found abandoned in Jackson. Surveillance video
captured a man in camouflage clutching a rifle trying to
(48:45):
break into a nearby church. He was desperate, he was armed,
and he was on the run.
Speaker 4 (48:51):
We are following a man hunt that is going on
as we speak in Tennessee. I want you to get
a good look at this guy. His name is Austin
Robert Drummond, and he's wanted in connection to the killings
of four people. Law enforcement says he is armed and dangerous.
He's accused of killing these four family members this week.
Their bodies were found forty five minutes north, hours after
(49:14):
police found this baby, alive but abandoned, still in their
car seat, left on the front lawn of a stranger's
home alone.
Speaker 2 (49:22):
The manhunt stretched on for nearly a week. US Marshall's
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agents and local law enforcement flooded
the area. A thirty seven thousand dollars reward was offered.
Tips poured in and sightings came in from all directions. Still,
he managed to evade capture until August fifth, twenty twenty five.
(49:44):
In the woods off Pipkin Road near Jackson, a man
named Ricardo Contreras was painting a house when he heard
rustling behind the tree line. At first he thought it
was a deer, but then he saw a man, sweating, dirty,
hunched down in camouflage. It was him. Contreras picked up
the phone, called nine one one, and within minutes the
(50:06):
man hunt was over. Drummond didn't go down fighting, he
didn't shoot, he didn't run. He was just done. Police
found him with multiple weapons and gear stuffed into a backpack,
but by then it was too late. The murders had
already been committed, the baby had already been left behind,
and four members of a family gone. What could make
(50:29):
someone so consumed by rage that they kill everyone in
the room but leave the smallest one alive. Now, before
he became the face of a man hunt, Austin Drummond
was something far more seductive. He was someone's second chance.
Caitlin's speed didn't just fall for an inmate. She risked everything,
her career, her family's trust, and ultimately their lives. Caitlyn
(50:54):
was thirty one, and as mentioned earlier, she was a
former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.
It was one of those jobs that required vigilance and
emotional detachment, but somehow lines were crossed, and maybe he
made her feel seen in a way others hadn't. What
started as flirtation grew into rule breaking, smuggled snacks, contraband phones.
(51:19):
Eventually it was enough to cost her the badge and
get her fired. But there was a darker side to
this forbidden connection, a secret world that never made it
into the sweet family photos. Behind prison walls, Drummond was
living a life of tense luxury. According to reports, his
cell was stocked like a bachelor's condo, bottles of alcohol
(51:41):
stashed in plain sight, streaming devices, and a gaming console
reportedly a Nintendo switch flickered under dim overhead lights, more
entertainment options than a typical day room. He was flaunting
perks that shouldn't have been there, casting a spotlight on
failings within the system that had let contraband flow freely.
During one recorded confrontation inside the prison yard, a fight
(52:05):
that guards barely contained, Drummonds stood towering and unbothered as
other inmates circled him. It wasn't bravado. It was confidence
born from a secure, cushioned existence that should have been
under scrutiny. The contradiction is chilling. Here was a man
who allegedly received favoritism behind bars, playing video games and
(52:27):
sipping liquor while waiting to be released. That surreal normalcy
hid a ticking fuse when he finally walked free in
September of twenty twenty four. He wasn't just an ex convict.
He was a man molded by a system that let
him become comfortable, emboldening him to believe he could defy consequences.
(52:47):
According to verified reports, Caitlin was four months pregnant with
Drummond's child at the time of the murders. Whether that
pregnancy was a source of joy or stress, no one
could say for sure. Was clear was that their relationship
had soured. By late twenty twenty four, Caitlin's brother in
law called Drummond a low life on social media. The
(53:10):
couple may have split before the murders. Was he enraged, jealous,
desperate to regain control. Whatever the trigger, it unleashed something
monstrous and fortunately he was now caught and for the
very first time, Austin Drummonds spoke out, I.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
Am innocent of put on charge with you, sir. I'm
not an innocent man, but I'm not guilty of with
this chargement. But I had no reason heard these people
of my girlfriend's family who had became my family. That's
ok Asriana to the hospital to have her baby. I
helped these braid the Dries Matthews like a little brother
to me.
Speaker 3 (53:47):
Man.
Speaker 2 (53:47):
That call from Austin Drummond changed everything. From behind bars,
he reached out to a local news broadcaster, an unusual
move for someone accused of mass murder, and said I'm
not innocent, but I'm not guilty. That tiny crack in
his stone wall proclamation split the case wide open. He
(54:08):
claimed he wasn't the killer of Adriana, Braden, James and Courtney,
but then why run his answer. He'd been working as
a confidential informant for law enforcement, an undercover source helping
to bring down corruption inside the prison and surrounding criminal networks.
According to Drummond, his cover was blown on the very
(54:29):
day the murders happened, and fear not guilt sent him running.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
During my time working for them, I have on my
cover drug dailers, selling multiple team of the Tamatoka and
also drunk trap for his delivering towns of meth. We
identified a dirty law enforcement and correctional personnel at tat
vice Bloyd leadership phone. I was afraid, I know bad
things happened. Yeah, I was afraid that because I was
(54:59):
in a format as it as would go wrong as
it happened to me.
Speaker 2 (55:03):
That bombshell raised more questions than it answered. Was this
just a clever distraction? If he really was an informant,
whom was he working for? Local investigators, the FBI, the
ATF or was it all made up smoke to muddy
the waters. The district attorney refused to comment, saying it
was not the time to reveal confidential details, but the
(55:26):
implication hung in the courtroom. If true, he may have
had enemies waiting in the shadows. Here's what's settled. Drummond
was arraigned and charged with four counts of first degree murder,
aggravated kidnapping, firearms offences, and felon in possession. The state
moved swiftly to revoke two existing bonds totaling hundreds of
(55:47):
thousands in dollars based on the murder charges alone. He
remains held without bond, with prosecutors announcing clearly they will
seek the death penalty. Behind the scenes, in investigators have
collected a trove of digital and physical evidence. Cell phone
pings placing Drummond near the Tiptonville crime scene around the
(56:08):
time of the killings, security footage of his white audi
a three abandoned in Jackson, and surveillance video of him
in camouflage with a rifle trying to break into a church.
All this paints a picture of premeditation, pursuit, and evasion.
Yet in court filings, Drummond's defense is building a narrative
(56:29):
of a man trapped between systems and expectations. They've asked
for his prison records, particularly the ones showing his comfort
behind bars, the liquor, the streaming devices, the video games,
arguing they may reflect manipulation by prison staff or exploitation
of the system's blind spots. They're contesting how that lifestyle
(56:50):
may have warped his emotional capacity and whether he was
ever psychologically evaluated before his release. Meanwhile, three others Diarras
Anders Tanaka Brown and Givante Thomas have been indicted for
aiding Drummond post crime. Sanders and Thomas face accessory after
the fact charges. Brown also faces tampering charges. Each has
(57:14):
pled not guilty, and their preliminary hearings are scheduled soon
after Drummonds. If convicted, they could face serious jail time
as punishment for hiding and helping a now notorious fugitive.
Beyond the legal strategies, the community's grief remains raw. Tiptonville
residents have set up memorials crosses with names and ages
(57:36):
Adriana twenty, James twenty one, Braden fifteen, and Courtney thirty eight.
A gofund me campaign raised money for the baby's care
and funeral expenses. Residents speak of a small town shattered,
calling it Tennessee's darkest days, a place where trust was betrayed,
(57:56):
love turned lethal, and justice seems slow to arise. Drummond's
claims have also sparked public debate. If he truly was
an informant, did that shield him from standard parole procedures,
did it grant him unchecked freedoms behind bars? And if so,
who else should be held accountable? Not just for the murders,
(58:17):
but for the systemic failures that allowed him to walk
into that family's home. His preliminary hearing is set for
early September. It's likely the court will hear about the
forensic evidence, bullet analysis, crime scene reconstruction, cell phone logs,
witness statements, but the defense may try to introduce the
informant story or request suppressed records. Whether or not that happens,
(58:42):
the stage is set for a trial that will probe
not just one man's guilt, but the fractures in both
justice and trust
I am innocent of puranzars with you, sir, a man,
an innocent man, But I am not guilty with this Chardenly.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
It started with a baby in a car seat, alone,
abandoned and left on a stranger's lawn like a forgotten
suit case. It ended with four bodies hidden in the
Tennessee woods, bullet riddled and silent, all of them gone,
but the infant, the people closest to her, the ones
who were supposed to protect her, now scattered lifeless on
(00:28):
a forest floor. Why would any one spare the baby
and slaughter her entire family before we dive in. Please
consider dropping alike and subscribing. It helps spread these stories
so more people can hear them. On the surface, this
family looked ordinary. James Matthew Wilson was only twenty one,
(00:49):
his partner Adriana Williams, just twenty. They were young parents,
barely out of their teenage years, raising a daughter together
in rural Tennessee. They lived in Tiptonville, a tiny town
where neighbors waved from porches and the loudest sound most
days is the hum of a lawnmower. Adrianna's mother, Courtney Rose,
(01:10):
and her younger brother, Braden Williams lived near by, helping
with the baby and doing their best to build a
life that was stable, quiet, and grounded in love. They
were a close knit household, three generations under one roof,
bound by loyalty and blood. However, on July twenty ninth,
that world collapsed. At around three eleven p m. A
(01:33):
woman in Tigrete, roughly forty miles from Tiptonville, discovered a
baby girl, unharmed, strapped into a car seat, sitting in
her front yard. No parent, no note, just a child
and a mystery. Officers immediately began checking missing persons reports,
but nothing matched. There were no car accidents, no break ins,
(01:55):
no calls of concern about a baby. For hours, she
was simply the girl with no name. It wasn't until
nightfall that the case took a darker turn. By around
eleven that same evening, a search led authorities to Carrington Road,
a stretch of forested farmland near Tiptonville. It was there,
among the trees and weeds that they made the discovery.
(02:18):
Four bodies, shot execution style and dumped without ceremony. James,
Adriana Braden Courtney. The entire family except for the baby.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
This is a very tight knit community and very loving community,
and something for this to happen is just shocking and
just hurtful and lie anybody who would want to do
something like that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Why were they killed? Who did this? And why was
the baby left alive? The questions were almost too big
to answer in one night, but investigators already had a
name in mind, a man with a violent history and
a personal connection to the victims, Austin Robert Drummond at
twenty eight. Summond was no stranger to the justice system.
(03:03):
He'd been locked up for over a decade, sentenced as
a teenager for armed robbery. But that wasn't all inside
prison walls. He'd been accused of attempting to murder another inmate.
He allegedly threatened a juror. He was, according to prosecutors,
a confirmed member of the Vice Lord's Street gang. In total,
(03:24):
he'd racked up more than two dozen disciplinary violations behind bars,
including possession of weapons. So how did a man like
that end up in the heart of this family's life.
The answer to that was because of Caitlin's speed. Caitlin
was a former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional complex,
the same prison where Drummond was serving his sentence. At
(03:46):
some point that professional line blurred. She was accused of
smuggling him contraband, phones, snacks, liquor, and maybe even more.
The relationship cost her everything. She was fired in October
Hober of the previous year, and not long after she
left her old life behind and moved in with Drummond,
(04:07):
with her four year old daughter beside her. Caitlin's speed
invited Austin Drummond into the one place most sacred, her home,
her family. He had just been released from prison after
spending nearly a decade behind bars, and to many, he
appeared to be a man trying to turn the page.
She introduced him to her sister, Courtney Rose, her niece
(04:28):
Adriana Williams, her nephew Braden Williams, and even her own mother,
and at first there was no obvious reason to worry,
no red flags that screamed danger. Austin acted kind, smiled often,
and seemed genuinely at peace. To the outside world, it
looked like a man trying to rebuild his life peace
(04:50):
by piece, with a woman who stood by him and
a family that welcomed him. He didn't come across as
cold or dangerous. Family members even described him as fun, gentle,
good with kids, someone who could crack a joke in
the kitchen or lend a helping hand when needed. His
Facebook page was filled with pictures of what looked like
(05:10):
a normal, happy life, selfies with Caitlin, posts about second chances,
and captions that hinted at gratitude for his new found freedom.
It was the image of redemption, of a man who
had paid his dues and was ready to walk the
straight path. But not everyone was convinced. There was one
person who refused to be fooled by the carefully crafted image,
(05:34):
one person who had every reason to be worried from
the very beginning. Caitlyn's ex boyfriend, the father of her child.
He had known Caitlin before the chaos. He had seen
her fall for Austin while she was still working as
a corrections officer inside the very prison where Drummond was
locked up, and when she lost her job, packed her
(05:54):
things and moved her daughter in with Drummond. Just days
after his release. The ex boyfriend had seen enough. He
didn't stay silent. He turned to social media and made
his feelings known in a raw and angry Facebook post
that would later feel like a gut wrenching prophecy. In
that post, he recounted how Caitlin had allegedly been fired
(06:15):
for engaging in a relationship with an inmate, Drummond, while
working at the prison, and then, after all that, she
moved in with the very man she once guarded, not
just alone but with their daughter. Caitlin Speed Northwest called
me and told me about you efing Austin Drummond in
there while you were working, and that you were terminated,
(06:37):
he wrote, Then the day he gets out, you move
off with my daughter and not let her speak to
me since she said he was mean to her. He
didn't hold back. He called Drummond a scumbag, someone unfit
to be around children. He warned Caitlin that she was
exposing their daughter to danger, even going as far as
to post a photo of Drummond alongside a caption that read,
(06:59):
this is the low life you have my daughter living with.
To many, it may have looked like the bitter outcry
of a jilted X, but in hindsight, it was a
flashing red light ignored. This wasn't about jealousy, This was
about fear. A desperate plea from a father who knew
that something was very, very wrong, but no one listened,
(07:21):
or if they did, they didn't act. Drummond meanwhile, continued
to play the role of the redeemed. He went on
trips with Caitlin. They visited Nashville within days of his release.
They posted photos and gave the impression that everything was fine.
It wasn't. Something was boiling beneath the surface, and by
the time it erupted, it was already too late. And
(07:44):
still the biggest question loomed, why spare the baby? Some
law enforcement officials quietly referred to it as an act
of mercy, a rare glimpse of compassion from a man
otherwise consumed by violence. Others believe it was more calculated.
Was the child spared as a twisted message to Caitlin,
(08:05):
a living, breathing reminder of what he took and what
she lost. Investigators quickly began to piece things together. Cell
Phone data placed Drummond near the murder site on the
night of the killings. A white audi A three believed
to be his, was found abandoned in Jackson. Surveillance video
captured a man in camouflage clutching a rifle trying to
(08:27):
break into a nearby church. He was desperate, he was armed,
and he was on the run.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
We're following a manhunt that is going on as we
speak in Tennessee. I want you to get a good
look at this guy. His name is Austin Robert Drummond,
and he's wanted in connection to the killings of four people.
Law enforcement says he is armed and dangerous. He's accused
of killing these four family members this week. Their bodies
(08:53):
were found forty five minutes north, hours after police found
this baby alive but abandons still in their car seat,
left on the front lawn of a stranger's home alone.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
The man hunt stretched on for nearly a week. US
Marshall's Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agents and local law enforcement
flooded the area. A thirty seven thousand dollars reward was offered,
Tips poured in, and sightings came in from all directions. Still,
he managed to evade capture until August fifth, twenty twenty five.
(09:27):
In the woods off Pipkin Road near Jackson, a man
named Ricardo Contreras was painting a house when he heard
rustling behind the tree line. At first he thought it
was a deer, but then he saw a man, sweating, dirty,
hunched down in camouflage. It was him. Contreras picked up
the phone, called nine one one, and within minutes the
(09:48):
man hunt was over. Drummond didn't go down fighting, he
didn't shoot, he didn't run. He was just done. Police
found him with multiple weapons and gear stuffed into a backpack,
but by then it was too late. The murders had
already been committed, the baby had already been left behind,
and four members of a family gone. What could make
(10:11):
someone so consumed by rage that they kill everyone in
the room but leave the smallest one alive. Now, before
he became the face of a man hunt, Austin Drummond
was something far more seductive. He was someone's second chance.
Caitlin's speed didn't just fall for an inmate. She risked everything,
her career, her family's trust, and ultimately their lives. Caitlyn
(10:36):
was thirty one, and, as mentioned earlier, she was a
former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.
It was one of those jobs that required vigilance and
emotional detachment, but somehow lines were crossed and maybe he
made her feel seen in a way others hadn't. What
started as flirtation grew into rule breaking, smuggled snacks, entraband phones.
(11:01):
Eventually it was enough to cost her the badge and
get her fired. But there was a darker side to
this forbidden connection, a secret world that never made it
into the sweet family photos. Behind prison walls, Drummond was
living a life of tense luxury. According to reports, his
cell was stocked like a bachelor's condo, bottles of alcohol
(11:23):
stashed in plain sight, streaming devices, and a gaming console
reportedly a Nintendo switch flickered under dim overhead lights, more
entertainment options than a typical day room. He was flaunting
perks that shouldn't have been there, casting a spotlight on
failings within the system that had let contraband flow freely.
During one recorded confrontation inside the prison yard, a fight
(11:47):
that guards barely contained, Drummond stood towering and unbothered as
other inmates circled him. It wasn't bravado. It was confidence
born from a secure, cushioned existence that should have been
under scrutiny. The contradiction is chilling. Here was a man
who allegedly received favoritism behind bars, playing video games and
(12:09):
sipping liquor while waiting to be released. That surreal normalcy
hid a ticking fuse when he finally walked free in
September of twenty twenty four. He wasn't just an ex convict.
He was a man molded by a system that let
him become comfortable, emboldening him to believe he could defy consequences.
(12:29):
According to verified reports, Caitlin was four months pregnant with
Drummond's child at the time of the murders. Whether that
pregnancy was a source of joy or stress, no one
could say for sure. What was clear was that their
relationship had soured. By late twenty twenty four. Caitlyn's brother
in law called Drummond a low life on social media.
(12:53):
The couple may have split before the murders. Was he enraged, jealous,
desperate to regain control. Whatever the trigger, it unleashed something
monstrous and fortunately he was now caught And for the
very first time, Austin Drummond spoke out.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I am innocent of put on charges with you, sir.
I'm not an innocent man, but I'm not guilty. With
the chargem but I had no reason heard these people.
Two of my girlfriend's familihood became my family. That's a
Adrianna to the hospital to have her baby. I helped
these braid the Dries. Matthews like a little brother to me. Man.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
That call from Austin Drummond changed everything. From behind bars,
he reached out to a local news broadcaster, an unusual
move for someone accused of mass murder, and said, I'm
not innocent, but I'm not guilty. That tiny crack in
his stone wall proclamation split the case wide open. He
(13:50):
claimed he wasn't the killer of Adriana, Braden, James and Courtney,
but then why run his answer. He'd been working as
a confident for law enforcement, an undercover source helping to
bring down corruption inside the prison and surrounding criminal networks.
According to Drummond, his cover was blown on the very
(14:12):
day the murders happened, and fear not guilt sent him running.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
During my time working for them, I have on covered
drug dailayers selling multiple kyot of cocaine, also drug trap
for Chris delivering towns of meth. We identified a dirty
law enforcement and correctional personnel at sat vicefully leadership phone.
I was afraidy, I know, bad things happened. Yeah, I
(14:39):
was afraid that because I was on the format, things
would me, things would go wrong, things would happened to me.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
That bombshell raised more questions than it answered. Was this
just a clever distraction? If he really was an informant,
whom was he working for? Local investigators, the FBI, the
ATF or was it all made up smoke to muddy
the waters. The district attorney refused to comment, saying it
was not the time to reveal confidential details, but the
(15:09):
implication hung in the courtroom. If true, he may have
had enemies waiting in the shadows. Here's what's settled. Drummond
was arraigned and charged with four counts of first degree murder,
aggravated kidnapping, firearms offences, and felon in possession. The state
moved swiftly to revoke two existing bonds totaling hundreds of
(15:29):
thousands in dollars based on the murder charges alone. He
remains held without bond, with prosecutors announcing clearly they will
seek the death penalty. Behind the scenes, investigators have collected
a trove of digital and physical evidence. Cell phone pings
placing Drummond near the Tiptonville crime scene around the time
(15:50):
of the killings, security footage of his white audi A
three abandoned in Jackson, and surveillance video of him in
camouflage with a rifle trying to break into a church.
All this paints a picture of premeditation, pursuit, and evasion.
Yet in court filings, Drummond's defense is building a narrative
(16:11):
of a man trapped between systems and expectations. They've asked
for his prison records, particularly the ones showing his comfort
behind bars, the liquor, the streaming devices, the video games,
arguing they may reflect manipulation by prison staff or exploitation
of the system's blind spots. They're contesting how that lifestyle
(16:33):
may have warped his emotional capacity and whether he was
ever psychologically evaluated before his release. Meanwhile, three others, Diarra Sanders,
Tanaka Brown, and Jivante Thomas have been indicted for aiding
Drummond post crime. Sanders and Thomas face accessory after the
fact charges. Brown also faces tampering charges. Each has pled
(16:57):
not guilty, and their preliminary hearings are scheduled soon after Drummonds.
If convicted, they could face serious jail time as punishment
for hiding and helping a now notorious fugitive. Beyond the
legal strategies, the community's grief remains raw. Tiptonville residents have
set up memorials crosses with names and ages Adriana twenty,
(17:20):
James twenty one, Braden fifteen, and Courtney thirty eight. A
gofund me campaign raised money for the baby's care and
funeral expenses. Residents speak of a small town shattered, calling
it Tennessee's darkest days, a place where trust was betrayed,
love turned lethal, and justice seem slow to arrive. Drummond's
(17:44):
claims have also sparked public debate. If he truly was
an informant, did that shield him from standard parole procedures,
did it grant him unchecked freedoms behind bars? And if so,
who else should be held accountable. This isn't the only
case where a single survivor walked away from a brutal
family massacre. In a video we covered before, we talked
(18:05):
about the Candy family tragedy, where one young boy was
the only one left alive after the rest of his
family was killed. Hi everyone, it's Teddy. Today we'll be
looking into the twisted case of the Candy family massacre.
(18:25):
Try to imagine the absolute terror a ten year old
boy would have experienced after waking up in the morning
and coming out of his room only to find everyone
in his family dead. Everyone but him, his father, mother,
and three older brothers are all lying in a pool
of their blood. The story we'll be talking about today
(18:46):
is so heartbreaking and frightening and might leave you questioning
if those whom you love the most are truly safe
to be around.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
At this point, I just wish the nightmare would be over.
I wished it was all about dream and that we
would wake up and that they would still be here.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Jonathan Candy's family looked just like any other normal American family.
Some people might even describe them as a fitting image
for the all American family next door. They were a
family of four boys and two parents. Everything looked very
normal in this family. No one would have ever expected
anything strange was going on behind the closed doors of
(19:26):
the Candy family's home.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
I had to see it for myself. I kept asking
Cooper to please snap and text Ethan and has he
seen Ethan today? As he talked to him, and I
was calling Lindsey and I was messaging Dylan, and nobody
would respond.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
They were your all American family.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
This is something I mean.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I could live a hundred thousand lifetimes and never expect
this out of that.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
I could never imagine that ever in my whole entire life,
you know. And I'm still in shock.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Even their neighbors, who saw and interacted with them almost
every day, never would have suspected anything horrible was going
on in the home of the Candy family, who lived
at the end of the cul de Sac. An interview
with the couple back in twenty twenty two about one
of their favorite bakery in Yukon during one Discovering Oklahoma
episode showed the couple to be a young, vibrant, and
(20:19):
happy family.
Speaker 6 (20:21):
I come here twice a week in the morning jiss
for their breakfast burritos, which are by far anything better
than you can get around here. I love the carrot cake.
I don't eat a lot of sweets, even with my
last name, but I love the carrot cake. I like
(20:42):
canola are good.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
It's a tragedy that they are all gone now, leaving
just the youngest son. The darkest part of this story
isn't even the fact that they were all murdered. It
would have been most likely easier and less painful for
everyone to understand if a dangerous and armed man or
someone who just really wanted to hurt the family broke
(21:04):
in during the middle of the night and murdered them
in cold blood. But no, that was not the case.
The darkest part of this story is that the person
who killed the wife and three children and also turned
to kill himself is Jonathan Candy and not any other person.
The man who was meant to be the husband and
(21:25):
father of the wife and children, and who was meant
to support, love and care for them, The same man
that these people looked up to for safety is the
same very person who took away their lives.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
Him and his kids seem like they always got a
long He just was a I don't know, just a
family man. I mean I never expected this. Were just
in total shock. The kids were real friendly. Everybody here
loved the kids. Uh swam here at his house regularly.
(21:58):
They played with my dog.
Speaker 8 (22:00):
How likely we have families down here that the Holi work,
and he'd come over them other lawns and take care
of the family. Anything he needed, he'd be there for you.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Jonathan Candy was a forty two year old man from Yukon, Oklahoma.
He worked as a part time employee at the Paycom Center,
one of Yukon's large arenas used to hold various events
like concerts and sports tournaments. It was another basketball season
and Jonathan Candy had been spending some time working on
the recent NBA games. It was the home game for
(22:30):
the Oklahoma City Thunder and everyone in the area was
excited to see the trophy come home. Although he just
worked part time, his jokes and laughs always brought life
to the arena. Jonathan Candy studied at Bishop mcgwinn's Catholic
High School, and after he graduated, he married his sweetheart,
Lindsay Terry. Lindsay grew up in Prague, Oklahoma. She was
(22:54):
a member of the choir as a young girl, and
she was always full of laughter. Candy was the funny,
goofy guy who loved to make jokes and make everyone laugh,
and Lindsey Terry was the beautiful young lady who loved
to laugh and was eventually swept off her feet by
this goofy guy's charm. And jokes. Their marriage seemed to
go on smoothly even after many years of marriage and
(23:18):
four sons. Jonathan and Lindsey Candy looked happily married. There
was never any report of possible domestic violence or abuse
of any sort. Their children also looked happy and lived
like the average American kid. The Facebook page of the
couple is filled with family photos of happy times, and
anyone scrolling by would believe they were a regular, happy family.
(23:42):
Jonathan always told his relatives and friends about how his
family and children were his entire world. But then on
April twenty second, something no one could have thought or
imagined occurred. The name of the Jonathan's family youngest son
has been withheld for privacy reasons, But what we do
know is that this little boy stepped out of his
(24:04):
room on April twenty second, twenty twenty four, and he
was expecting it to be like any other day. He
didn't expect anything unusual. He slept through the night with
a box van blowing in his direction, so he couldn't
have heard anything going on outside. The only thing he
remembered hearing was the fire alarm that went off during
(24:25):
the night, but he went soundly back to sleep. Right
after that, at around nine o a m. He stepped
out of his room only to find his entire family
in a pool of blood. At nine thirty am on
April twenty second, twenty twenty four, the ten year old
boy called nine one one and told the dispatcher that
he found his entire family dead. Not too long after,
(24:49):
the police arrived at the home of the Candy family
near Southwest twenty ninth Street and check Hall Road. They
entered the house and were shocked by what they saw.
It was nothing short of a massacre. After their inspection,
they saw thirty nine year old Lindsey Candy, who had
been shot and killed. She was murdered along with her sons,
(25:09):
eighteen year old Dylan Candy, fourteen year old Ethan Candy,
and twelve year old Lucas Candy. The suspected killer, forty
two year old Jonathan Candy, was also found dead from
a self inflicted gunshot wound. It didn't take too long
to conclude that this was a case of murder suicide,
but the question on everyone's mind why did this happen?
(25:33):
The sole survivor was the ten year old who made
the call to nine one one. Neighbors on check Hall
Road noticed as ambulance and police vehicles began to pull
up into their neighbour's home. They were confused as to
what might have occurred. After some time of investigation, it
was revealed that the father, Jonathan Candy, allegedly hunted down
(25:54):
and killed his wife and children one by one, except
for the youngest son. An interview with Oklahoma officials revealed
that two of the victim's bodies were found upstairs and
the other two were found downstairs. There were no signs
of a struggle at the crime scene, which adds more
confusion to what went down. In most cases like this one,
(26:16):
it is unusual for the killer to spare just one
person and kill everyone himself. If the intention was murder suicide,
everyone present is usually a casualty. What could have occurred?
Why did Jonathan Candy decide to spare the youngest son.
Is it possible he came to his senses last minute,
(26:37):
or did he have a special relationship with this child? Unfortunately,
these questions might remain unanswered because there's no one to
ask these questions to. The Relatives of the Candy family
realize how hard this would be on the young boy,
and they think it's best to leave him out of
any further investigations in the meantime till then this case
(26:59):
would remain a mystery. One of the officials in charge
of the investigation, doctor Joni Johnston, a clinical and forensic psychologist,
said that the entire scenario was shocking to her. She
has never witnessed a case where a parent murders some
of the children and lets just one live. Friends and
(27:19):
neighbors who saw Jonathan before the murders said everything seemed
just fine to them. There was nothing unusual or out
of place. Jonathan's colleagues specifically mentioned that he was at
the thunder Pelicans playoff game just hours before the tragic
murders occurred. Nobody is sure if there are any warning
signs that the people around the family should have picked
(27:40):
up on. There was no sign of domestic violence, which
is usually a common factor in murder suicide cases. Up
till now, no one can state or rightly speculate the
motive behind the murders. All we know is that there
was possibly an altercation between Jonathan and Lindsay on the
night of the murders. No one knows what their argument
(28:02):
could have been about and why Jonathan decided that the
best way to deal with the situation was to kill
his wife and systemically hunt down and kill three of
his kids. He seemed like a loving and supportive father,
But what would make a father put a bullet through
some of the people he claimed to love the most
in the world.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
But something may have happened. He kills his wife and
several of his kids and then just decides to kill
himself kind of to get out of it.
Speaker 8 (28:29):
One possibility, I mean, there's so many possibilities, and I
think one of them that I thought about is it's
possible that he kills his wife in the heat of
some altercation. They're having some argument and he, for whatever reason,
just loses it, shoots her several times, kills her. And
that is not premeditated, and there is no history of
(28:50):
depression or those things that we're talking about. And then
starts thinking that I can't leave my kids to face this.
You know, I could not bear the thought of my
children know that I murdered their mother, their father is
a murderer, or I am going to kill myself, and
I can't bear the thought of my kids being left
with no parents.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Ongoing investigations are trying to find out if there were
any form of financial crises that the family was going through.
Sometimes financial crises in homes can lead to depression, particularly
to the man who might feel the weight of the
burden on his shoulders. This could result in distorted thinking
and increase the chances of feeling like there's no hope
(29:30):
and no help. Another factor investigators are considering is whether
Jonathan had any form of mental health challenge that he
was so good at hiding and didn't share with anyone.
There's still a form of stigma around seeking help for
mental health challenges, and those who don't end up seeking
help usually end up making terrible mistakes that could affect
(29:53):
their lives and the lives of those they love. Signs
of depression in men are usually different from that in women.
Men might not be able to mentally process well or
vocally express their feelings of depression, so what they do
oftentimes is to isolate themselves, and then they become irritable
and edgy and express anger instead of showing sadness. Families, friends,
(30:18):
and loved ones around them might not understand that these
might be signs of depression and that the person might
have suicidal tendencies. It's quite unfortunate when people don't seek
help for mental health issues on time, because when they
enter a certain stage of depression, they lose all hope
in the world and believe the best thing they can
(30:39):
do is kill themselves and take other people with them.
The actual motive behind the murders is not known, so
for now this remains a mystery to everyone. On Lindsey
Candy's Facebook page, one of her childhood friends, Commie Cruz,
upon hearing the news, shared some details about the friendship
(31:00):
between her and Lindsay. She said that Lindsey and she
were both choristers in church when growing up, and that
they sang side by side with each other in the choir.
She also mentioned that she and Lindsey attended school together
until they both graduated in two thousand two. A particular
memory Commie Cruz shared helped everyone see the bright and
(31:21):
playful nature Lindsay had. She said that as young girls,
she and Lindsey hid in a tree house and fell
asleep there. Their parents couldn't find them, became worried and
called the police. At the end of the day, everyone
laughed about the situation, stating how the girls gave them
a fright of their lives, only to be found asleep
in a tree house. Crews also mentioned that she and
(31:44):
Lindsay had a friendship they could always pick up from
where it left off. She stated how devastated she had
been after hearing the news of the Candy family's death.
She has been unable to imagine or process the entire thing.
Crew said on the Facebook page that Lindsay was so
loved and special to many people. She specifically stated how
(32:05):
fiercely loved Lindsay was by her boys and how she
brought laughter to every conversation and the lives of her parents,
her sister, and their girl group. Dylan Candy was the
first son of Jonathan and Lindsay Candy. He was a
social person who didn't find it hard to make friends,
and it was obvious to everyone that he had a
(32:26):
passion for drumming and music in general. Just last year,
in May twenty twenty three, he graduated from Mustang High School.
He loved playing in the marching band, and he attended
Oklahoma Baptist University during the semester in fall to join
the Bison Brigade. The Bison Brigade was OBU's marching band
(32:46):
and Dylan played their first bass drum. The director of
Athletic Bands at OBU, Brian Stackhouse, mentioned that the only
reason Dylan wasn't leading any section in the band was
because he was a freshman, but he was placed in
the position to play the complex first base because he
was good at playing in the band. Brian Stackhouse said
Dylan was an amazing young man who had a big heart.
(33:09):
He described Dylan as someone happy at all times and
who was always friendly to everyone, regardless of if he
was having a rough day. He was an excellent example
to his peers on what it means to dedicate yourself
to the team, how to work through hard situations, how
to persevere, keep on showing up and give it your
absolute best. Stackhouse recalled that a core memory he had
(33:33):
of Dylan was during band camp when he was told
that he had a solo in the drum line. Dylan
was so happy that he couldn't sit in one place
and he just went on with his day with so
much excitement. Dylan's bandmates were encouraged to support one another
as they dealt with the devastating news of his death.
Dylan's bass drum and uniform would be set up as
(33:56):
a memorial display to honor him and his family. Teen
year old Ethan Candy was the second son of the
Candy family. He was a ninth grade student at Mustang
North Middle School and everyone in school knew him as
this active, athletic young boy who was good at baseball.
Ethan's coach said he was a very energetic and committed
(34:18):
player who had a natural talent for the game and
always played with so much gladness and intensity. He said
Ethan had an inspiring spirit and a smile that could
lighten people's mood. His coach, T. J. Armstrong, was quite
fond of Ethan. He was best friends with his son,
and he believed he brought out the best in his son.
(34:39):
He would usually call him sweet Candy Man. Cooper, Armstrong
and Wyat Livesey. Ethan's best friends, as well as his
other friends, have been unable to fully process the loss
of Ethan. A memorial bench is being set up at
the Mustang Youth Sports Complex to honor his presence in
their lives and the team. Lucas Candy was the youngest
(35:01):
victim of the murders. He was twelve years old and
was a student at Meadowbrook Intermediate. He was always seen
playing around with the other young children during Ethan's soccer practice.
He was full of life and was an active, smart kid.
He would be remembered as a bright, joyful kid who
loved to play outdoors and make new friends. One of
(35:22):
the saddest parts of this tragic story is the fact
that the youngest child and sole survivor of the Candy
family would have to grow up knowing that his entire
family was murdered by his father. At ten years old,
He's already set to face a future where he grows
up without his immediate family, no dad, no mum, no siblings.
(35:45):
In just one night, his entire life changed and those
whom he called family were no more. He might grow
up needing closure of what happened, and sadly, might not
be able to find an answer. This is a burden
too heavy to be placed on a ten year old
child with his entire future ahead of him. He has
(36:06):
been placed in the care of extended family members and
people in the community are coming together to show him
as much support as possible to help him deal with
this difficult reality. Social workers have been assigned to work
closely with the family to make sure he receives every
necessary emotional and psychological support. A go Fundme has been
(36:28):
set up for him, and people have been encouraged to
give as much as they can to assist with his upkeep,
education and future needs. The support that has been received
so far from the community has been very heartwarming and overwhelming,
proving to the only surviving Candy Sun and their other
family members that they are not alone in these painful times.
(36:52):
No one ever saw this coming. This is one reason
why the news is so shocking to those who knew
the family. At the local station KAF, Jonathan's family released
a statement where they expressed how truly confused and devastated
they were. They said they have so many questions they
won't ever have answers to. One of Candy's family neighbors,
(37:14):
sixty eight year old Michael Bircham, said that it's hard
for him to believe that his neighbors are no more
and that he already misses them. Another neighbor, Brian Graham,
mentioned how handy and helpful Jonathan was around the neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (37:28):
T J.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Armstrong, Ethan's coach, said he chooses to remember Jonathan Candy
as that great guy. He always knew him as someone
who was always thankful and was always giving hugs. His wife,
Rnda Armstrong, who had known the Candy family for over
three years, said that whenever she went to their house
or they came over, she never could stop smiling and laughing.
(37:52):
They could make her forget about her bad day at
work or her life struggles the moment she saw their smiles,
she said. Lindsey was always at Ethan's Bay baseball game
with the loudest cheer as they played the games. Everyone
who knew them saw them as a kind, sweet and
happy family, which made the idea of what happened to
them even harder to believe. Investigators are trying to do
(38:14):
a thorough search to find clues of whatever might have
led up to Jonathan's drastic actions. They are trying to
examine his interactions with friends and family to identify any
possibility of a poor mental state, but because there have
been no previous pointers to poor mental health, it has
been particularly frustrating to figure out a clear motive behind
(38:36):
his actions. However, authorities are using this incident as an
avenue to inform people about the importance of seeking help
in any case of mental health issues. They emphasize the
fact that there is a need to break every stigma
connected with seeking help. Jonathan Candy's case just goes further
to show how those who seem happy and all right
(38:58):
on the outside could be dealing with some deep inner trauma.
Everyone is going through one thing or the other, so
we need to learn to be compassionate with people we
meet and take some time to connect and talk to
our family and friends to ensure there is no build
up of negative emotion. Authorities have offered to help people
who might be struggling to process their emotions or the
(39:20):
news of Candy's family deeth by giving them access to
support groups and counseling services. This seems like an absolute nightmare.
Everyone wishes they would just wake up from. The Candy
family were loved by many and would forever be dear
in their hearts. As family and friends grieve the death
of Jonathan, Lindsey, Dylan Ethan, and Lucas Candy, they also
(39:45):
realize that the priority at a time like this is
to ensure the survivor of the Candy family receives as
much support and love as possible. We've come to the
end of today's episode, Stay tuned for more stories of
them the most twisted cases ever. Don't leave without hitting
the subscribe button. If you haven't already and liking this video,
(40:07):
thanks see you in the next video.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I'm innocent of put on chars with your sir. I'm
i an innocent man, but I'm not guilty with the chars.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
It started with a baby in a car seat, alone,
abandoned and left on a stranger's lawn like a forgotten suitcase.
It ended with four bodies hidden in the Tennessee woods,
bullet riddled and silent, all of them gone, but the infant.
The people closest to her, the ones who were supposed
to protect her, now scattered lifeless on a forest floor.
(40:48):
Why would anyone spare the baby and slaughter her entire
family before we dive in. Please consider dropping a like
and subscribing. It helps spread these stories so more people
can hear them. On the surface, this family looked ordinary.
James Matthew Wilson was only twenty one, his partner Adriana Williams,
(41:09):
just twenty. They were young parents, barely out of their
teenage years, raising a daughter together in rural Tennessee. They
lived in Tiptonville, a tiny town where neighbors waved from
porches and the loudest sound most days is the hum
of a lawnmower. Adriana's mother, Courtney Rose, and her younger
brother Braden Williams lived nearby, helping with the baby and
(41:32):
doing their best to build a life that was stable, quiet,
and grounded in love. They were a close knit household,
three generations under one roof, bound by loyalty and blood. However,
on July twenty ninth, that world collapsed. At around three
eleven PM, a woman in Tigret, roughly forty miles from Tiptonville,
(41:55):
discovered a baby girl, unharmed, strapped into a car seat,
sitting in her front yard. No parent, no note, just
a child and a mystery. Officers immediately began checking missing
persons reports, but nothing matched. There were no car accidents,
no break ins, no calls of concern about a baby.
(42:15):
For hours, she was simply the girl with no name.
It wasn't until nightfall that the case took a darker turn.
By around eleven that same evening, a search led authorities
to Carrington Road, a stretch of forested farmland near Tiptonville.
It was there among the trees and weeds that they
made the discovery. Four bodies, shot execution style and dumped
(42:39):
without ceremony, James, Adriana, Braden Courtney, the entire family except
for the baby.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
This is a very tight knit community and very loving community,
and something for this to happen, it's just shocking and
just hurtful and lie anybody who woul want to do
something like that.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
Why were they killed? Who did this? And why was
the baby left alive? The questions were almost too big
to answer in one night, but investigators already had a
name in mind, a man with a violent history and
a personal connection to the victims. Austin Robert Drummond. At
twenty eight, Drummond was no stranger to the justice system.
(43:20):
He'd been locked up for over a decade, sentenced as
a teenager for armed robbery. But that wasn't all inside
prison walls. He'd been accused of attempting to murder another
inmate he allegedly threatened a juror. He was, according to prosecutors,
a confirmed member of the Vice Lord's Street gang. In total,
(43:41):
he'd racked up more than two dozen disciplinary violations, behind bars,
including possession of weapons. So how did a man like
that end up in the heart of this family's life.
The answer to that was because of Caitlin's speed. Caitlin
was a former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional Complex,
the same prison where Drummond was serving his sentence. At
(44:04):
some point that professional line blurred. She was accused of
smuggling him contraband, phones, snacks, liquor, and maybe even more.
The relationship cost her everything. She was fired in October
of the previous year, and not long after, she left
her old life behind and moved in with Drummond, with
(44:25):
her four year old daughter beside her. Caitlin's speed invited
Austin Drummond into the one place most sacred, her home,
her family. He had just been released from prison after
spending nearly a decade behind bars, and to many, he
appeared to be a man trying to turn the page.
She introduced him to her sister, Courtney Rose, her niece
(44:46):
Adriana Williams, her nephew Braden Williams, and even her own mother,
and at first there was no obvious reason to worry,
no red flags that screamed danger. Austin acted kind, smile,
miled often, and seemed genuinely at peace. To the outside world,
it looked like a man trying to rebuild his life,
(45:07):
peace by piece, with a woman who stood by him
and a family that welcomed him. He didn't come across
as cold or dangerous. Family members even described him as funny, gentle,
good with kids, someone who could crack a joke in
the kitchen or lend a helping hand when needed. His
Facebook page was filled with pictures of what looked like
(45:28):
a normal, happy life, selfies with Caitlin, posts about second chances,
and captions that hinted at gratitude for his new found freedom.
It was the image of redemption, of a man who
had paid his dues and was ready to walk the
straight path. But not everyone was convinced. There was one
person who refused to be fooled by the carefully crafted image,
(45:52):
one person who had every reason to be worried from
the very beginning. Caitlin's ex boyfriend, the father of her child.
He had known Caitlin before the chaos. He had seen
her fall for Austin while she was still working as
a corrections officer inside the very prison where Drummond was
locked up, and when she lost her job, packed her
(46:12):
things and moved her daughter in with Drummond. Just days
after his release. The ex boyfriend had seen enough. He
didn't stay silent. He turned to social media and made
his feelings known in a raw and angry Facebook post
that would later feel like a gut wrenching prophecy. In
that post, he recounted how Caitlin had allegedly been fired
(46:33):
for engaging in a relationship with an inmate, Drummond, while
working at the prison, and then, after all that, she
moved in with the very man she once guarded, not
just alone but with their daughter. Caitlin's speed Northwest called
me and told me about you effing Austin Drummond in
there while you were working, and that you were terminated,
(46:54):
he wrote. Then the day he gets out, you move
off with my daughter and not let her speak to
me since she said he was mean to her. He
didn't hold back. He called Drummond a scumbag, someone unfit
to be around children. He warned Caitlin that she was
exposing their daughter to danger, even going as far as
to post a photo of Drummond alongside a caption that read,
(47:17):
this is the low life you have my daughter living with.
To many, it may have looked like the bitter outcry
of a jilted X, but in hindsight, it was a
flashing red light ignored. This wasn't about jealousy. This was
about fear, a desperate plea from a father who knew
that something was very, very wrong, But no one listened,
(47:39):
or if they did, they didn't act. Drummond meanwhile, continued
to play the role of the redeemed. He went on
trips with Caitlin. They visited Nashville within days of his release.
They posted photos and gave the impression that everything was fine.
It wasn't. Something was boiling beneath the surface, and by
the time it erupted, it was already too late. And
(48:02):
still the biggest question loomed, Why spare the baby? Some
law enforcement officials quietly referred to it as an act
of mercy, a rare glimpse of compassion from a man
otherwise consumed by violence. Others believed it was more calculated.
Was the child spared as a twisted message to Caitlin,
(48:23):
a living, breathing reminder of what he took and what
she lost? Investigators quickly began to piece things together. Cell
Phone data placed Drummond near the murder site. On the
night of the killings, a white Audi A three believed
to be his was found abandoned in Jackson. Surveillance video
captured a man in camouflage clutching a rifle trying to
(48:45):
break into a nearby church. He was desperate, he was armed,
and he was on the run.
Speaker 4 (48:51):
We are following a man hunt that is going on
as we speak in Tennessee. I want you to get
a good look at this guy. His name is Austin
Robert Drummond, and he's wanted in connection to the killings
of four people. Law enforcement says he is armed and dangerous.
He's accused of killing these four family members this week.
Their bodies were found forty five minutes north, hours after
(49:14):
police found this baby, alive but abandoned, still in their
car seat, left on the front lawn of a stranger's
home alone.
Speaker 2 (49:22):
The manhunt stretched on for nearly a week. US Marshall's
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agents and local law enforcement flooded
the area. A thirty seven thousand dollars reward was offered.
Tips poured in and sightings came in from all directions. Still,
he managed to evade capture until August fifth, twenty twenty five.
(49:44):
In the woods off Pipkin Road near Jackson, a man
named Ricardo Contreras was painting a house when he heard
rustling behind the tree line. At first he thought it
was a deer, but then he saw a man, sweating, dirty,
hunched down in camouflage. It was him. Contreras picked up
the phone, called nine one one, and within minutes the
(50:06):
man hunt was over. Drummond didn't go down fighting, he
didn't shoot, he didn't run. He was just done. Police
found him with multiple weapons and gear stuffed into a backpack,
but by then it was too late. The murders had
already been committed, the baby had already been left behind,
and four members of a family gone. What could make
(50:29):
someone so consumed by rage that they kill everyone in
the room but leave the smallest one alive. Now, before
he became the face of a man hunt, Austin Drummond
was something far more seductive. He was someone's second chance.
Caitlin's speed didn't just fall for an inmate. She risked everything,
her career, her family's trust, and ultimately their lives. Caitlyn
(50:54):
was thirty one, and as mentioned earlier, she was a
former corrections officer at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.
It was one of those jobs that required vigilance and
emotional detachment, but somehow lines were crossed, and maybe he
made her feel seen in a way others hadn't. What
started as flirtation grew into rule breaking, smuggled snacks, contraband phones.
(51:19):
Eventually it was enough to cost her the badge and
get her fired. But there was a darker side to
this forbidden connection, a secret world that never made it
into the sweet family photos. Behind prison walls, Drummond was
living a life of tense luxury. According to reports, his
cell was stocked like a bachelor's condo, bottles of alcohol
(51:41):
stashed in plain sight, streaming devices, and a gaming console
reportedly a Nintendo switch flickered under dim overhead lights, more
entertainment options than a typical day room. He was flaunting
perks that shouldn't have been there, casting a spotlight on
failings within the system that had let contraband flow freely.
During one recorded confrontation inside the prison yard, a fight
(52:05):
that guards barely contained, Drummonds stood towering and unbothered as
other inmates circled him. It wasn't bravado. It was confidence
born from a secure, cushioned existence that should have been
under scrutiny. The contradiction is chilling. Here was a man
who allegedly received favoritism behind bars, playing video games and
(52:27):
sipping liquor while waiting to be released. That surreal normalcy
hid a ticking fuse when he finally walked free in
September of twenty twenty four. He wasn't just an ex convict.
He was a man molded by a system that let
him become comfortable, emboldening him to believe he could defy consequences.
(52:47):
According to verified reports, Caitlin was four months pregnant with
Drummond's child at the time of the murders. Whether that
pregnancy was a source of joy or stress, no one
could say for sure. Was clear was that their relationship
had soured. By late twenty twenty four, Caitlin's brother in
law called Drummond a low life on social media. The
(53:10):
couple may have split before the murders. Was he enraged, jealous,
desperate to regain control. Whatever the trigger, it unleashed something
monstrous and fortunately he was now caught and for the
very first time, Austin Drummonds spoke out, I.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
Am innocent of put on charge with you, sir. I'm
not an innocent man, but I'm not guilty of with
this chargement. But I had no reason heard these people
of my girlfriend's family who had became my family. That's
ok Asriana to the hospital to have her baby. I
helped these braid the Dries Matthews like a little brother
to me.
Speaker 3 (53:47):
Man.
Speaker 2 (53:47):
That call from Austin Drummond changed everything. From behind bars,
he reached out to a local news broadcaster, an unusual
move for someone accused of mass murder, and said I'm
not innocent, but I'm not guilty. That tiny crack in
his stone wall proclamation split the case wide open. He
(54:08):
claimed he wasn't the killer of Adriana, Braden, James and Courtney,
but then why run his answer. He'd been working as
a confidential informant for law enforcement, an undercover source helping
to bring down corruption inside the prison and surrounding criminal networks.
According to Drummond, his cover was blown on the very
(54:29):
day the murders happened, and fear not guilt sent him running.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
During my time working for them, I have on my
cover drug dailers, selling multiple team of the Tamatoka and
also drunk trap for his delivering towns of meth. We
identified a dirty law enforcement and correctional personnel at tat
vice Bloyd leadership phone. I was afraid, I know bad
things happened. Yeah, I was afraid that because I was
(54:59):
in a format as it as would go wrong as
it happened to me.
Speaker 2 (55:03):
That bombshell raised more questions than it answered. Was this
just a clever distraction? If he really was an informant,
whom was he working for? Local investigators, the FBI, the
ATF or was it all made up smoke to muddy
the waters. The district attorney refused to comment, saying it
was not the time to reveal confidential details, but the
(55:26):
implication hung in the courtroom. If true, he may have
had enemies waiting in the shadows. Here's what's settled. Drummond
was arraigned and charged with four counts of first degree murder,
aggravated kidnapping, firearms offences, and felon in possession. The state
moved swiftly to revoke two existing bonds totaling hundreds of
(55:47):
thousands in dollars based on the murder charges alone. He
remains held without bond, with prosecutors announcing clearly they will
seek the death penalty. Behind the scenes, in investigators have
collected a trove of digital and physical evidence. Cell phone
pings placing Drummond near the Tiptonville crime scene around the
(56:08):
time of the killings, security footage of his white audi
a three abandoned in Jackson, and surveillance video of him
in camouflage with a rifle trying to break into a church.
All this paints a picture of premeditation, pursuit, and evasion.
Yet in court filings, Drummond's defense is building a narrative
(56:29):
of a man trapped between systems and expectations. They've asked
for his prison records, particularly the ones showing his comfort
behind bars, the liquor, the streaming devices, the video games,
arguing they may reflect manipulation by prison staff or exploitation
of the system's blind spots. They're contesting how that lifestyle
(56:50):
may have warped his emotional capacity and whether he was
ever psychologically evaluated before his release. Meanwhile, three others Diarras
Anders Tanaka Brown and Givante Thomas have been indicted for
aiding Drummond post crime. Sanders and Thomas face accessory after
the fact charges. Brown also faces tampering charges. Each has
(57:14):
pled not guilty, and their preliminary hearings are scheduled soon
after Drummonds. If convicted, they could face serious jail time
as punishment for hiding and helping a now notorious fugitive.
Beyond the legal strategies, the community's grief remains raw. Tiptonville
residents have set up memorials crosses with names and ages
(57:36):
Adriana twenty, James twenty one, Braden fifteen, and Courtney thirty eight.
A gofund me campaign raised money for the baby's care
and funeral expenses. Residents speak of a small town shattered,
calling it Tennessee's darkest days, a place where trust was betrayed,
(57:56):
love turned lethal, and justice seems slow to arise. Drummond's
claims have also sparked public debate. If he truly was
an informant, did that shield him from standard parole procedures,
did it grant him unchecked freedoms behind bars? And if so,
who else should be held accountable? Not just for the murders,
(58:17):
but for the systemic failures that allowed him to walk
into that family's home. His preliminary hearing is set for
early September. It's likely the court will hear about the
forensic evidence, bullet analysis, crime scene reconstruction, cell phone logs,
witness statements, but the defense may try to introduce the
informant story or request suppressed records. Whether or not that happens,
(58:42):
the stage is set for a trial that will probe
not just one man's guilt, but the fractures in both
justice and trust
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.