LAGRANGE, Ga. — A Georgia man charged in the deaths of his wife, three of her family members and a friend was arrested at a bus station in Tupelo, Mississippi, authorities said Monday.
Investigators suspect the victims had been dead for three days when deputies found them late Saturday, Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said. A worried employer had called to report one of the victims missing from work.
The suspect, Thomas J. Lee, 26 was arrested after telling a Mississippi pastor that he was having car trouble and needed to get to Opelika, Alabama, Woodruff said. The pastor helped get Lee a bus ticket, but called police later when he realized authorities were searching for him.
An undated photo provided by the Troup County Sheriff’s Department shows Thomas J. Lee, a 26-year-old Georgia man facing charges in the deaths of five people, including his wife and other family members who were found dead inside their surburban home late Saturday, Jan. 31 2015, in LaGrange, Ga. Lee is facing five counts of malice murder in the slayings. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
The dead include Lee’s wife, 33-year-old Christie Lee; her 16-year-old daughter, Bailey Burtron; and the slain woman’s parents, 69-year-old William Burtron and 68-year-old Sheila Burtron. Also killed was a family friend, 18-year-old Iiaonna Green, who authorities said had been living with the family. All of the victims were found in the home where they and Lee lived.