Man used Craigslist to lure Marietta couple, killed them. He pleads guilty to murders
The man who used Craiglist to lure and kill a couple to Telfair County in early 2015 has admitted his responsibility for their deaths and received life in prison, Telfair County Sheriff Sim Davidson said on Facebook Monday.
Ronnie “Jay” Towns pleaded guilty to two counts of malice murder stemming from the deaths of Bud and June Runion of Marietta in 2015, according to court documents. The couple had posted a Craigslist ad about buying a car and Towns got the Marietta couple to go to Telfair County, close to two hours away from Macon. He shot the two in the head and stole the their phones, wallet, purse and SUV.
After a judge declined to let Towns out on bond, his attorney, Franklin J. Hogue of Macon, said it would be “a long time ‘til trial.”
Towns was 28 when he was indicted. He’s 38 now.
Why was his case delayed for so long?
Prosecutors attempted to seek the death penalty in Towns’ case. Prosecutors said that on top of his actions being “outrageously or wantonly vile,” he had stolen from them and had used burner cellphones to lure people like the Runions.
But in 2018, Towns’ attorneys argued the grand jurors who had indicted him were not randomly selected, which led to the case’s dismissal.
In 2020, Towns was indicted again on murder, malice murder and armed robbery charges. He once again faced the death penalty.
“It is unusual for a case to be eight years and eight months old and a client still be sitting in jail awaiting trial,” Hogue, Towns’ attorney, said last year. “But the delay ... it can be attributed to factors that themselves are a bit unusual.”
Information from Telegraph archives was used in this story.
