A MAN accused of massacring four members of his girlfriend’s family has been convicted over a separate prison attack in which an inmate said he was stabbed 17 times.
Austin Drummond, 29, escaped an attempted first-degree murder conviction but was found guilty of the lesser charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter and possessing contraband inside a prison.
Austin Drummond, 29 has been convicted over a separate prison attack Credit: WMC-TV
Adrianna Williams, 20, James “Matthew” Wilson, 21 with their daughter who was abandoned by Austin after murdering her parents Credit: gofundme
The verdict came after a two-day trial in Carroll County, Tennessee, over an August 2023 fight at the Northwest Correctional Complex.
Drummond had been behind bars when prosecutors say he and fellow inmate Andre Brown attacked Timothy Singleton.
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Singleton told jurors he had been talking on the phone when he was blindsided and repeatedly stabbed.
He said he suffered 17 wounds, including injuries to his head, back and chest.
A nurse who treated Singleton documented wounds to his hand, arm, shoulder and scalp as well as multiple injuries to his back.
Drummond denied trying to kill him when he took the stand in his own defense.
He said he had heard Singleton was planning to attack him following threats involving money and claimed he acted to protect himself.
Drummond also told jurors that he never intended to kill Singleton.
Jurors deliberated for about two hours before clearing Drummond of the original attempted first-degree murder count.
Brown was also acquitted of attempted first-degree murder but convicted of facilitation of attempted voluntary manslaughter.
He was found not guilty of possessing contraband in the prison.
Drummond and Brown are scheduled to be sentenced in Lake County on August 31.
(Top Left to Right) Adrianna Williams, 20, James “Matthew” Wilson, 21; ; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15 Credit: gofundme
This photo provided by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 shows Austin Drummond, moments after having been taken into custody. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation via AP) Credit: AP
The case is separate from the four murder charges that have made Drummond one of Tennessee’s most notorious defendants.
He is accused of killing Cortney Rose, 38, Rose’s daughter Adrianna Williams, 20, her 15-year-old son Braydon Williams, and Adrianna’s boyfriend James “Matthew” Wilson, 21, in July 2025.
All four were found shot dead in Lake County.
Drummond knew the victims through his relationship with Rose’s sister, Kaitlyn Speed, who was pregnant with his child at the time of the killings.
Hours before the bodies were discovered, Adrianna and Wilson’s seven-month-old baby was found alive in a car seat outside a stranger’s home around 40 miles away.
Drummond was captured in Jackson after a weeklong manhunt and has pleaded not guilty to the murder and kidnapping charges.
Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty.
The accused killer has since made extraordinary claims about what he was doing before the four deaths.
In court filings this year, Drummond alleged that he had been working as a confidential informant for state and federal law enforcement.
He claimed his cooperation began after an April 2025 meeting involving an assistant district attorney, FBI and ATF agents and a Tennessee prison narcotics investigator.
Drummond submitted what he said were letters and emails supporting his account, although WBBJ said it had not independently verified the documents.
He also claimed the four people he is accused of killing were connected to the investigation and that his identity as an informant had been exposed before their deaths.
Drummond remains in custody while the quadruple murder case moves toward trial.
