A suspect is in custody in connection with the stabbing deaths of a Columbus mother and her three children, police said.
Travane Brandon Jackson, who had a long-term relationship with the children's mother, was charged Thursday with four counts of family violence-murder, according to WTVM-TV in Columbus.
Jackson’s arrest came after authorities found Jerrica Spellman, 29, and her children dead Wednesday evening at the Elizabeth Canty Homes near 20th Avenue and Cusseta Road.
The three children were identified as 3-year-old King Jackson, 1-year-old Kensley Jackson and 1-month-old Kristen Jackson.
"It's a tragic situation," Muscogee County coroner Buddy Bryan told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "One of the most brutal that I have seen in my seven years as coroner."
Credit: Muscogee County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Muscogee County Sheriff's Office
While authorities are still working to confirm Jackson’s relationship to the three children, they believe he is their father, according to WTVM-TV.
He lived in the apartment with Spellman at the time of the quadruple homicide, police told the news station.
Spellman filed a domestic violence report against Jackson in 2017, and he was later arrested in connection with the incident, WTVM-TV reported. It is not clear how the case was resolved.
Details about what led to Wednesday’s deadly stabbing have not been released. Columbus police officers discovered the gruesome scene after receiving a tip earlier in the day.
Jackson, 27, is the only suspect, police said.
The bodies of the victims will be sent to the GBI Crime Lab in DeKalb for autopsies.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 706-225-4367 or email msitler@columbusga.org.
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