Additional Coverage:
Tragedy struck Dyer County, Tennessee on Tuesday, as an infant was found abandoned on a stranger’s lawn, a discovery that grimly foreshadowed the deaths of four relatives in neighboring Lake County. Authorities are working diligently to unravel the connections between these two heartbreaking events.
The infant, found in a car seat on a residential property in Tigrett, was thankfully unharmed and received immediate medical attention. The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation, searching for the vehicle involved in the abandonment, described as either a dark minivan or a white midsize SUV.
Initially, investigators sought to speak with three individuals about the abandoned infant: Cortney Rose, Matthew Wilson, and Adrianna Williams. These individuals, later identified as relatives of the child, were tragically found deceased later that evening in a wooded area of Tiptonville, Lake County.
Dyer County District Attorney Danny Goodman confirmed the identities of the deceased as 21-year-old Matthew Wilson (the child’s father), 20-year-old Adrianna Williams (the mother), 38-year-old Cortney Rose (the maternal grandmother), and 15-year-old Braydon Williams (the maternal uncle).
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, along with nearly a dozen other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force, are actively investigating this complex case.
Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box expressed the community’s sorrow, vowing to uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice. The investigation remains ongoing.