Cops: Suspect in 5 Murders Hadn't Slept in Days

Victims were shot at South Carolina home, sheriff says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2022 9:14 PM CDT
Cops: Man Who Killed 5 Hadn't Slept in 4 Days
This booking photo provided by the Burke County, Ga., Jail shows James Douglas Drayton, who was arrested in Burke County, Ga., on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022.   (Burke County Jail via AP)

A South Carolina man arrested after a police chase in Georgia Monday admitted killing five men and told officers he hadn't slept in four days, police say. James Douglas Drayton, 24, allegedly stole a car, drove more than 100 miles to Georgia and robbed a convenience store after the murders in a home in Inman, around 10 miles from Spartanburg, NBC reports. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said Tuesday that the scene police found at the home Sunday night was "horrific." The five victims were all adults, ranging in age from 19 to 59. Four were pronounced dead at the scene and a fifth died during surgery at a local hospital. Wright said investigators believe the victims were shot around 9am Sunday.

He said Drayton, who had been living at the home, told investigators he had been using methamphetamine for days and had been hearing voices. "I don’t know what that means to him," the sheriff said. "I know that he had been using meth, and he had been up for like, four days. Someone that hadn’t slept in four days—they’re probably not thinking." The sheriff said Drayton has been charged with five counts of murder—and he hopes the case meets the criteria for the death penalty, WRDW reports. The sheriff said there had been previous reports of "people hallucinating" at the home. Wright said that while there has been talk of drug use, the five slain men should be seen as victims. "God still loves us even if we make dumb choices," the sheriff said.

(More South Carolina stories.)

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