Jeffrey Peacock. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation)
A 25-year-old man has been charged with murder after police said he fatally shot five people in a Georgia home and then set it on fire to conceal the evidence.
Jeffrey Peacock was arrested on May 18 and charged in connection with the May 15 quintuple homicide in Colquitt County, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday in a press release.
Peacock is accused in the deaths of Jordan Croft, 22; Jones Pidcock, 21; Reid Williams, 21; Jonathon Edwards, 21; and Alicia Norman, 20. They were found dead in the Moultrie home where they lived, after the fire.
Peacock was injured in the fire and was taken to a local hospital.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. He Told Police He Had Went to Get Breakfast for the 5 Victims & Came Back to Find the House on Fire
Jeffrey Peacock. (Facebook)
The fire at 505 Rossman Dairy Road in Moultrie was first reported just before 8:30 a.m., the Moultrie Observer reports.
When officers arrived, they found Peacock near the entrance to the home. He told them he had gone to a Hardee’s restaurant to get breakfast for everyone at the home and came back about an hour later to find the house engulfed in flames, the newspaper reports.
Five people discovered dead in Moultrie, Ga house fire. State fire investigators working to determine the cause.
“It was discovered that the bodies of five victims were located inside the home. The bodies were transported to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Macon, Georgia for an autopsy examination,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a press release. “The initial autopsy findings indicated that all five victims suffered from gunshot wounds.”
Peacock was identified a suspect during the investigation and was arrested without incident on Thursday. He has been booked into the Colquitt County Jail, the GBI said.
2. Police Have Not Released a Motive for the Killings
The victims of the fire, clockwise from top left: Reid Williams, Jonathan Edwards, Jordan Croft, Alicia Norman and Jones Pidcock. (Facebook)
Jeffrey Peacock knew all five victims, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. A motive for the killings has not yet been determined, according to the GBI.
Friends told Bridget-Anne Burke, of ABC27, that Peacock used to live in the home with the five victims, but was kicked out within the past few months.
Police have not confirmed that report.
The five victims lived together in the Moultrie house. They all graduated from Colquitt County High School. Alicia Norman and Jonathan Edwards were dating, according to their Facebook pages.
3. He Wrote ‘Well I Don’t Think This Year Can Get Any Worse’ in a Facebook Post After the Fire
Peacock firing a gun in a photo on his Facebook page.
Peacock was treated at the hospital and then took to his Facebook page on May 15, posting just hours after the fire.
“Well I don’t think this year can get any worse,” he wrote in a post at 1:56 p.m.
The post drew nearly two dozen comments of condolences and support from friends and family.
4. He Was Kicked Out of the Marine Corps for Drug Use, a Source Says
Jeffrey Peacock. (Facebook)
Peacock was dismissed from the Marine Corps in 2012 for drug use, a source told Heavy.com.
He enlisted in April 2011 and left on December 21, 2012, WTOC-TV reports. He was assigne to electronics maintenance and never deployed overseas.
Details of his release weren’t confirmed by officials, but a spokesman told WTOC his “premature discharge and rank are indicative of the fact that the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards.”
He was stationed for some time at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. Peacock claimed on his Facebook page that he was a Lance Corporal at the time of his separation from the Marines, but officials said he was a Private First Class.
5. He Was Part of a State-Champion Rifle Team in High School
(Facebook)
Peacock was in the Marines Corps Junior ROTC in high school and was a member of a state champion rifle team, according to an article in the Moultrie Observer.
He was part of a team that represented Georgia in a national competition in Ohio.
Peacock had a criminal record, but details were not released, WTOC reports.
