The man accused of killing five people at a home near LaGrange last week made his first appearance before a Troup County magistrate Wednesday.
Thomas Jesse Lee, 26, stood emotionless in a black-and-white striped jail jumpsuit as Judge Vickie Sue McWaters read the charges against him and told him that he will remain jailed without bond until a preliminary hearing before a superior court judge on Feb. 19.
Lee is charged with malice murder in the deaths of his wife, 33-year-old Christie Lee, father-in-law William Burtron, 69, mother-in-law Sheila Burtron, 68, step-daughter Bailey Burtron, 16, and Iaonna Green, an 18-year-old family friend.
Deputies found the five bodies inside a home on Woodstream Trail near LaGrange Saturday evening after going to the house for a welfare check.
Warrants read during Wednesday morning’s 3-minute hearing indicated that William and Sheila Burtron, Christie Lee and Green were all shot, and that William Burtron was also beaten. Bailey Burtron died of asphyxiation, according to the murder warrant.
The deaths occurred sometime between Jan. 28 and Saturday, the warrants stated.
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