Episode 81 | CLASSIC CAR COUPLE MURDERED BY A CRAIGSLIST SCAMMER

This is such a sad story of a salt of the earth retired couple in search of their dream car. In 2015, Bud and June Runion of Georgia had placed an ad on Craigslist looking for a1966 Red Mustang convertible, just like the one Bud had many years before. They got a reply from a seller and a killer. This guy had the exact car they were looking for. Or did he? Their trust and faith would ultimately lead to a very dark chapter in 2 family's lives. ★Enjoy!

★PLEASE RATE THE PODCAST:
I’d like to as a quick favor - please rate/ review the Homicide Inc podcast if you haven’t already. Click the stars (all 5 if you fancy) and leave a review if you would.
https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/homicide-inc-classic/id1548239093?l=en

★NEED MORE HOMICIDE INC.? Check out our PATREON campaign for exclusive Homicide Inc. podcasts available only to Patrons!
https://www.patreon.com/petervongomm

★THE HOMICIDE INC. WEBSITE is here! All podcasts are available on the website.
https://www.homicide-inc.com

★DISCORD CHAT! Want to chat about the Homicide Inc. podcasts and crime in general? Join us on our Discord server here.  https://discord.gg/peBqDfT6

★ WHO AM I ?
My name is Peter von Gomm and I'm a professional Voice actor and Narrator and in this podcast I'll be bringing you high quality True Crime that passes the test of time. You've come to the right place for a great story!

★PODCAST SUPPORT
If you like these Podcasts and would like to help support their production, please consider buying me a cup of coffee! This will help keep me wired for writing and recording these weekly podcasts, and contribute towards web and podcast hosting. Thanks very much indeed! :0)  buymeacoffee.com/petervongomm

★STORY SUBMISSION
If you have an INTRIGUING TRUE STORY to share and would like me to consider reading it in a podcast, please submit it to petervongomm.reads@gmail.com
*It must be well-written please. ;0)

★Homicide Inc. theme song by Christopher J. Orton
https://www.fiverr.com/meandamic
*Guitars played by Joao Corceiro
https://www.fiverr.com/joaocorceiro

SOURCES for this episode:
https://www.statesboroherald.com/local/suspect-charged-with-murder-of-missing-georgia-couple/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bud-and-june-runion-georgia-couple-shot-in-head-suspect-charged-

https://www.walb.com/2019/10/22/telfair-co-double-murder-charge-tossed-technicality/

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2015/01/26/two-bodies-recovered-after-missin

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/opinion/columns/2019/11/01/charlie-harper-column-f

https://www.yourtango.com/2019323687/who-ronnie-adrian-jay-towns-killed-retirees

#murder #truecrime #craigslistkiller #podcast #truestory #homicide #homicideinc #crime #investigative #k

Transcript

The Mustang Murderer 

The original Ford Mustang. Loads of ponies under the long sleek hood out front and plenty of space for 4. Hardtop, fastback or convertible, it was a fast, sporty and wildy popular vehicle of its day in the mid 1960’s and today a classic many would kill for. Some quite litterally. And that’s the irony of this story. 

It all began in Georgia, in the sleepy town of Marietta, on 19 January 2015. Elderly husband and wife, Elrey, affectionately known as Bud, and June Runion, had put together their life savings and decided they were going to buy something dreamy. A car. But not just any car, a classic red 1966 Mustang convertible to be precise. Elrey had been wanting one for years and had finally decided to take the plunge. He was looking for a replica of the 1966 Ford Mustang convertible he bought after returning from the Vietnam War decades earlier. And where else would he turn to but Craigslist? He created a simple advert stating that he was looking for this particular car to buy and his budget. All they had left to do was wait and dream. A dream worth waiting for in most circumstances but sadly not this time.

The Runions didn’t have to wait long; they had a response after three days. On the Craigslist app, the potential seller had told them that he had one of those Ford convertibles that he was willing to sell to them. They were pumped. He SEEMED decent enough and besides, they were going out to look at the car first before handing over any money. Elrey knew all about the scams people pulled on the internet these days, he wanted the see the car in person. 

So, on that Thursday, 22 January, Elrey and June packed their bags, and their cash, and hopped into the SUV. They were headed to a small rural town in South Georgia, McRae. The drive was about 3 hours long, but the time whizzed by as the couple excitedly discussed all the places they would go in their new car and how much their kids would enjoy riding in it. Top-down naturally. At 3:30 pm June had texted their daughter expressing her excitement and to let her know that they were almost at the seller’s place, that was the last time they were heard from. 

Almost three hours away back at home, Virginia Owens, daughter of Elrey and June had begun to get worried. It was Saturday and her parents had not shown up to babysit the grandkids. This was highly unusual as they absolutely adored the kids.  Virginia called and called but there was no answer, she knew something was wrong and called the police. Her parents were missing. At the time, before they had found her parent’s SUV, Virginia had said: "If someone has taken them, we have forgiven that person, because God tells us to love and forgive.” That is some true conviction there!

Police arrived at the Runion’s house and searched inside the suburban Atlanta home. They noticed immediately that the couple’s cell phones and chargers weren’t there. Virginia had explained to the police that her parents had gone to view a car her dad had wanted to buy. Maybe they were still there? Police checked the Craigslist account and were able to identify the potential seller, a Mr Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns. Police knew he made the last contact with the couple but when questioned, he told them that they never showed up to see the car and he never heard from them. 

Well upon further investigation police had found evidence that he did not actually own the classic red 1966 Mustang the Runions were looking to buy. So why would he set them up? It was all a ruse, to rob them of their hard-earned cash. The phone he used to communicate with the Runions was a burner; he still had it when the cops questioned him. 

The following Monday the police raced up to the rural farmlands of McRae to search for the couple and to arrest Ronnie Towns for attempted robbery and he was also charged with lying to the police. Volunteers and police also found the couple’s SUV that Monday, sunken in the pond on the Towns’ property. It was not looking good for the missing Runions. As authorities continued their search they came upon a final grizzly find of the day. Two bodies were hidden nearby. By the next day the bodies would be identified as Elrey and June Runion. The police also had one suspect, already in custody and he was singin’. Very convenient! 

The police didn’t have to do much digging, as Ronnie, accompanied by his family, confessed to killing the elderly couple. They were a tight-knit family and they were the ones to convince him to confess. Ronnie was close with his uncle, Buddy Towns, who told the press that he was shocked to hear his nephew was involved. Ronnie had often worked with him installing carpet and flooring, the locals knew him well. Ronnie was a good kid and quite intelligent. According to his uncle.

When the news came out that Ronnie had confessed to murdering the couple, each with a gunshot to the head, the local community was shocked and horrified. MacRae was a small farming community, where everyone knew each other. The downtown area had even won an award for being the 6th safest city in Georgia. I think we can assume that they won’t be keeping that title for long! 

Growing up Ronnie had a good childhood, got along with his parents. He lived on a farm where his father grew pine trees, soybeans, corn and peanuts. His family was well-liked and so was he. 

What made his actions even more shocking to the local community was that he had a family of his own, a wife and a young daughter in neighboring Wheeler County. Towns supported them by working construction jobs for a local homebuilder, he didn’t look like a killer. That’s the unnerving part. His family, especially his father whom he was very close with, was incensed to hear the news of his involvement. The entire community was feeling betrayed.

Friends and family of Elrey and June were equally stunned and saddened, they couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that this “nice guy” had lured the couple out and killed them. It just didn’t make sense. Nothing about his motives made sense. 

Ugly things like this always seem to happen to the best of society. Good, honest and trusting folks with huge hearts like the Runions. The Runion’s were well-liked and known for their charitable works in the community and throughout the South. Elrey and June had successfully run a charity called Bud’s Bicycles. This had started years earlier as Bud was driving through Marietta one Christmas Eve and saw two young girls sorting through a dumpster looking for toys. He was moved by this and went home and fixed up two bicycles belonging to his own girls and delivered them as gifts. The charity ran loosely through the local Mount Paran Church of God, the same church where he and June had met. 

The couple had even gone as far as to build a shed on their property to house the bikes they were going to donate and eventually their charity grew to the point where they were also collecting food, school supplies, clothing, bedding and even household goods. Their other daughter Brittany had said that her dad often told them: 'You can't take money with you when you're gone, You might as well spend and enjoy it.” She fondly remembers her father helping the homeless or simply picking up other people’s tabs at stores. He was a good man. 

Their death rocked the local neighbourhood.   "If someone lives their life like this and this happens, it really tests your faith," said their neighbour, Tom Murphy. Isn’t this the age-old question, why do bad things always happen to good people? 

 So that Tuesday morning Ronnie was charged with malicious murder and armed robbery. While Ronnie had initially confessed to the crime, in court he pleaded not guilty.  But the evidence all pointed to him, and he was eventually indicted and imprisoned. BUT this was not the end for Ronnie. 

Ronnie’s lawyer found their glimmer of hope in the form of country court clerk Belinda Thomas. It turns out that Belinda had called four people she knew personally to ask if they would serve on a jury, out of the four she invited, two sat on the jury. This is a problem as those members on the jury could no longer be considered impartial.  Ronnie’s lawyers had said “[This] non-random selection of four individuals from the trial jury list, compounded by the self-selection of two of those individuals based on their willingness to serve, destroyed the randomness of the selection process for the trial,” 

Belinda defended her decision saying that she wasn't looking to game the system, it wouldn’t look good for the county and would be a total disservice to the Runion family and friends. Ronnie’s lawyers argued that this was grounds for a case dismissal, and the court judge agreed. Ronnie’s indictment was dismissed! The judge had stated that The Clerk of Court chose two of the jury sets purposefully and not at random as required by the statute. It would be an unfair result.

This obviously outraged the family and the public, but there was nothing that they could do to change this. Other trial lawyers also disagreed with the dismissal, Justice John J. Ellington said: I do not believe that the clerk of court’s method in this case for securing grand jurors from the list of persons who had been summoned to appear for service as trial jurors constituted a disregard of the ‘essential and substantial’ provisions of the new statutory scheme governing jury selection such that it vitiated the array.” In laymen terms…he wasn’t happy with the decision. Full stop.

The state court had appealed to the Supreme Court, they were hoping that the judge would reconsider the dismissal. If necessary, District attorney Timothy Vaughn stated that he would ask another grand jury for a new indictment of Towns as well as proceeding with a death penalty trial against Ronnie. While all this was happening, Ronnie had remained in the Dodge County jail. 

Vaughn explained that the actual root of the issue with Ronnie’s case is that there are too few jurors and how jury pools are comprised since the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the old jury commission method of setting jury lists. Georgia now relies on a computer system, and the addresses of citizens are frequently outdated or in error, Vaughn said. Many people do not show up for jury duty either, creating a problem for many cases throughout the state. The minimum needed for a court is 16 jurors’ but now with this new system courts are not meeting this number, resulting in cases being dismissed just like Ronnie’s.

So, what does this mean for Ronnie and the grieving Runion family? Because of this “mishap,” his trial would essentially start again from the beginning, all four years of work down the drain. This doesn’t guarantee that the new case will be concluded in four years either, sometimes it can take decades. Which is extremely frustrating for the victim’s family and the need for closure. 

This story doesn’t have a happy ending for both parties and perhaps should stand as a cautionary tale on how important it is to actually attend jury duty, no matter how much of a pain in the ass it is. It might just make or break a case.