New Evidence Surfaces in 2015 Telfair County Murder Case of Elderly Couple
New developments have emerged in the investigation of the January 2015 deaths of Bud and June Runion, Telfair County residents.
On April 14, 2024, a citizen found a .22 caliber rifle while magnet fishing in Horse Creek on Old Prison Camp Road, McRae-Helena, Telfair County, Georgia. Continuing to search the area, the same individual discovered a bag on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, containing drivers’ licenses and credit cards belonging to the Runions, along with a cell phone believed to be theirs.
Following this discovery, agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Telfair County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at a residence in the 400 block of Webb Cemetery Road, McRae-Helena, Telfair County, Georgia. Another search warrant was executed at the same location on Friday, April 19, 2024. Investigators recovered evidence during both searches, which will undergo further analysis at the crime lab.
In January 2015, Ronnie Jay Towns was arrested for the deaths of the Runions as well as armed robbery. Towns is also known as the “Craigslist killer” because prosecutors say he lured the Runions to rural Georgia after they responded to a Craigslist ad for a 1966 Ford Mustang, then robbed and shot them dead. Subsequently, Towns was indicted. The case is currently scheduled for trial in August 2024.
Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Eastman at 478-374-6988. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
