A man has pleaded guilty to the murders of a Georgia couple who were lured to death nearly a decade ago by what authorities say was a rifle belonging to someone fishing in the bay. Magnets and other cold case evidence have been found.
Telfair County Sheriff Sim Davidson said in a statement that Ronnie J. Towns pleaded guilty to the murders of Bud and June Runyon in 2015 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. statement monday.
The case came to a conclusion just a few months after someone used a magnet to catch fish in Georgia Bay. pulled away a rifle as well as some of Runyon's belongings In the same area where the couple was murdered. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in April that driver's licenses, credit cards and other items recovered from Horse Creek were “new evidence” in the murder case.
Authorities then said Magnate Fisher had discovered a .22-caliber rifle – the same caliber as the gun used to kill Runyons. When Magnate Fisher returned to the same location two days later, he found a bag containing a cellphone, driver's license and credit cards, which investigators said belonged to Bud and June Runyon.
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The couple's bodies were found on a county road in January 2015 and authorities said they had been robbed. Their bodies and their car were found at three different locations, investigators said at the time, CBS affiliate WMAZ-TV informed,
Investigators said Towns lured the couple by responding to an online ad seeking a classic car posted by 69-year-old Bud Runion, although Towns did not actually own the car. Authorities said the couple made the three-hour trip from their home in Marietta to Telfair County to view the vehicle. They never returned.
Towns was eventually charged with the murders but his trial was delayed several times – once because too few jurors reported for jury duty when prosecutors took it to the grand jury, WMAZ-TV reported. informedHe was convicted again in 2020, but the case was delayed Covid-19 pandemicUltimately, after new evidence was recovered from the bay, Towns pleaded guilty and is now set to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Sheriff Davidson said, “We are grateful to have closure on this case and our prayers are with both families.” Said monday.
Magnet fishing folks have pulled up other unexpected items in recent months. In June, a New York City couple said they used a magnet reels in a safe Which contains two stacks of waterlogged $100 bills. A month before that, a magnet got stuck in the fissure human skull Locked on exercise dumbbell from New Orleans Waterway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.