Authorities arrested an Alabama middle school assistant principal more than a decade after three bodies were found stuffed in the backseat of an abandoned car.
Keante Harris, 45, has been charged with three counts of malice murder in connection with the torture and deaths of the trio of victims found dead in a Dodge Charger dumped along I-85 in Fulton County, Georgia in 2013, the Clayton County Sheriff's Office said.
It's unclear if he entered a plea to the charges.
Harris, an assistant principal at McAdory Middle School in McCalla, Alabama, was among four people arrested last week in the cold case triple murders of Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, 32, Quinones King, 33, and Rodney Cottrell, 43, according to police, WAKA-TV reported.
Authorities allege the victims were forced into a home in Jonesboro, Georgia, at gunpoint, and later loaded into the backseat of the Charger that was driven to Clayton County, and later ditched.
Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris, and Darrell Harris are also accused in the slayings and face similar charges. The suspects were taken into custody across three states.
It's unclear how the men were tied to the case.
The Jefferson County School District confirmed Keante was placed on paid administrative leave pending investigation.
"At this time we still are gathering facts about the specifics of this situation. However, early indications are that the charges are not related to this individual's employment with Jefferson County Schools," the district said in a statement, in part, WBMA-TV reported. "As more facts become available, we will act according to our district's policy."
