He’s attracting new evidence.
A fisherman using a magnet to find metal objects in a Georgia creek pulled out a rifle and other items now expected to be key in the trial of a man long suspected of murdering an elderly couple nine years ago.
The unidentified searcher first pulled a .22-caliber rifle from Horse Creek on April 14 — with cops realizing it was the same type of weapon used in the 2015 murders of Bud Runion, 69, and his 66-year-old wife, June.
The object hunter went back the next day, and found a cellphone as well as the Runions’ credit cards and driver’s licenses, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
The items are being entered as “new evidence” against Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns — who is expected to go to trial in August.
“It was a good case already,” said District Attorney Tim Vaughn of the Oconee Judicial Circuit, “but this makes it an even better case.”
The Runions were killed after driving three hours from their home in Atlanta to rural Telfair County, lured by a bogus Craigslist ad for a 1966 Mustang.
Towns was arrested days later on charges of armed robbery and murder, but his initial indictment was tossed over issues with how the grand jury was selected.
He was indicted a second time in 2020 and the case was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty in the case, are preparing for Towns’ trial to start as soon as August, though no date has been set, the DA said.
Towns has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Vaughn said the rifle from the creek is the same caliber as the gun that killed the Runions, though investigators are still trying to determine whether it’s the weapon used in the crime.
The belongings found in the creek also led investigators to obtain warrants to search a Telfair County home where they uncovered additional evidence.
Vaughn said the rifle from the creek is the same caliber as the gun that killed the Runions, though investigators are still trying to determine whether it’s the weapon used in the crime.
The GBI’s statement gave no further details and Vaughn declined to comment on what had been found.
With Post wires
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