A pastor and some church members unwittingly helped a man reportedly trying to escape from killing his wife, her parents, a family member, and a friend by buying him a bus ticket before realising who he really was.
Thomas Jesse Lee, 26 had been on the run from LaGrange, Georgia since Saturday after he committed the crime and only surrendered to authorities on Monday at a bus station in Tupelo, Mississippi, the Wyff44 reported.
He even went to church service on Sunday at the Crossroads Baptist Church in a small town near Tupelo. It was there that he got the pastor and church members to help him purchase a bus ticket to Opelika, Alabama.
The pastor only found out that the man they helped was actually the suspect involved in the LeGrange murders after seeing a news report as he was travelling with Lee. He immediately called authorities and informed them about Lee's whereabouts and the suspect failed to get on his intended bus ride. He was arrested without incident.
According to WTVM, Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said that the vehicle Lee was driving in was found in Tennessee and they are now trying to get the car back to Georgia. The suspect was reportedly travelling with their family dog, but the pet is now in the possession of the pastor, who is arranging its return to the Burton family.
Woodruff credited the media and social media posts for helping them capture Lee.
The suspect has waived his extradition in Mississippi and has been brought back to Georgia to make his first court appearance, where he will be charged with five counts of murder.
He allegedly shot his victims in different rooms of their house, while his fifth victim was killed in a different manner, still to be determined by autopsy.
His victims were William Burtron, 69, Sheila Burtron, 68, Christie Lee, 33, Bailey Burtron, 16, and Lianna Green, 18. Four of the victims are related, while Christie Lee was the suspect's wife.
