Murder Charges Filed in Craigslist Couple's Death

Photo Credit: Telfair County Sheriff’s Office

Officials in Telfair County have filed murder charges against a man they say used Craigslist to lure a Cobb County couple into a deadly trap last week.

The Associated Press reports that Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns, 28 has been charged with malice murder and armed robbery for the deaths of Elrey “Bud” Runion and his wife June Runion, whose bodies were discovered on Monday. The couple was found shot to death in a wooded area of Telfair County near a pond where their missing SUV had been discovered earlier on Monday.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, which conducted the autopsy on the Runions, both were killed by a shot to the head from a small caliber gun, said the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Telfair County officials waited until the bodies were positively identified before levying the additional charges against Towns at 1:51 p.m. on Tuesday, said the AJC.

Towns turned himself in on Monday and was initially charged with making false statements to police and attempted theft by taking.

Investigators now believe that Towns responded to a Craigslist ad posted last week by Bud Runion, who was looking to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang. Authorities suspect that Towns offered to sell Runion a Mustang, but was actually planning to rob him of the substantial amount of cash he would be bringing with him to purchase the expensive classic vehicle.

Towns first appeared in a Telfair County courtroom on Tuesday morning, before the murder charges were filed.