Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Police: Alabama massacre suspect injected ‘ice,’ confessed

ATLANTA – Court records say a Mississippi man accused of killing five people in a south Alabama home with an axe and gunshots told investigators he parked in the woods nearby and injected methamphetamine “ice” into his veins shortly before the killings.

Search warrant affidavits say Laneta Lester was awakened by the sound of a gunshot, and saw her ex-boyfriend Derrick Dearman kill the other adult occupants of the home: three men and two women.

Detectives say in the affidavits that Dearman gave “a full confession” when detectives interviewed him.

Dearman, of Leakesville, Mississippi, has pleaded not guilty to murder and kidnapping. Authorities say he attacked the victims as they slept Aug. 20, then kidnapped Lester. Police say Lester had recently moved into the house to escape a violent relationship with Dearman.

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.