Alabama Assistant Middle School Principal Among 4 Arrests Made in Georgia Cold Case Triple Murder: Police

An assistant principal at an Alabama middle school was among four men arrested in connection with a cold case triple murder that took place in Georgia back in 2013, authorities said.

Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen said in a statement that all four suspects had been arrested across three states within 48 hours of receiving their warrants last week.

On January 13, 2013, Union City Police Department officers on patrol discovered what appeared to be an abandoned 2010 Dodge Charger along Interstate 85 in Fulton County, Ga.

Upon looking inside, they found three deceased bodies, and further investigation revealed they had been tortured and murdered in Clayton County, just south of Atlanta, before they were dumped in Fulton County.

The victims, identified as Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quinones King and Rodney Cottrell, all of Montgomery, Ala., had been lured to a residence in Jonesboro, Ga., and forced inside at gunpoint, according to the sheriff's office.

They were later loaded into the back seat of the Charger and moved to Fulton County.

"Chief Kevin Robert, the head of Clayton County Police Department and his outstanding investigators were able to crack this 11-year-old case and provide Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley and her team with the proper information to successfully get murder indictments from the grand jury," Allen said.

The sheriff's office received warrants for the suspects' arrest, and activated its Elite Fugitive Unit to apprehend them.

Agencies including the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Alabama, the Greer Police Department in South Carolina and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina assisted in the arrests.

Keante Harris, a 45-year-old assistant principal at McAdory Middle School outside of Birmingham, was charged with three counts of malice murder. Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris and Darrell Harris were also arrested and charged with three counts each of malice murder.

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Jefferson County Schools said in a statement to WAKA-TV that Keante Harris has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.

TMX contributed to this report.