TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. — Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson told Channel 2 Action News that robbery was the motive in the murder of a Cobb County couple.
Bud Runion, 69, and June Runion, 66, were shot in the head, sheriff’s officials say. The couple disappeared Thursday, Jan. 22, when they left their Marietta home for south Georgia. The couple were going to purchase a 1966 Ford Mustang. Bud Runion posted an ad on Craigslist looking for someone selling the vehicle, and police say Ronnie “Jay” Towns, 28, responded and lured them to their death.
The couple's bodies, along with their SUV, were found in Telfair County Monday. The SUV was in a pond, and the bodies of the Runions were nearby, sheriff's officials say.
Steverson said there is no evidence that Towns had a 1996 Mustang to sell the couple. He said deputies had previously questioned Towns in a rash of petty thefts. He was never charged.
"Obviously, they didn't find a strong enough connection," Steverson said.
Steverson detailed some specifics about the current case to Channel 2’s Aaron Diamant.
"We feel that we can prove it was motivated as a robbery," Steverson said.
Towns is charged with murder and armed robbery, along with some lesser charges, for the killings of the Runions.
"We don't have any evidence of there being a '66 Mustang owned by this individual or anyone who's associated with him," Steverson told Diamant.
Channel 2 Action News learned that a landscaping company recently fired Towns because he stopped showing up for work regularly.
"To know that an individual from this community is involved in this heinous crime on my watch, yeah, it pisses me off,” Steverson said.
Steverson says the department is still plowing through a mountain of evidence to piece together the Runions' final moments.
Meanwhile, loved ones are mourning the loss of the Runions.
Channel 2 Action News learned June Runion was a teacher at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.
"The children just loved her. she's so gentle with them and so kind ," fellow teacher and friend Beverly Plowman said. "She lived for the children."
Plowman told Channel 2's Tom Regan that death of Bud and June Runion left her reeling, and she that she cannot stop thinking about the couple's three daughters.
"My prayers are with the children," Plowman said. "I can't imagine how hard that is to lose your parents like that in a very tragic way."
She says she hopes that the couple did not suffer.
"From the beginning, I have prayed that it all happened quickly. I know Bud and June well enough to know that when it happened, the next place they saw was Jesus."
Plowman spoke of the couple's endearing love, and about how Bud Runion powerwashed a playful heart on the couple's driveway just last year.
"For a man to call his wife 'Babydoll' after 30 years, that's really sweet. It really is," Plowman said. "That's the kind of relationship they had."
Neighbors echoed Plowman's point, saying the two were devoted to each other.
Funeral services for Bud and June Runion will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1:00 p.m. at Mt. Paran North Church of God, 1700 Allgood Road, Marietta, GA 30062.
Stay with WSBTV.com and watch the Channel 2 Action News as we continue to follow this investigation and murder case.