Suspect arrested in house fire charged with murder

MOULTRIE — The five victims thought to have died in a recent Colquitt County house fire were murdered prior to the blaze, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials.

Jeffrey Alan Peacock, 25, of Colquitt County has been arrested, charged with murder and is being held without bond in the Colquitt County Jail. Peacock, who was reportedly known by the deceased, allegedly shot all five victims and set the structure on fire to conceal the crime, said the GBI.

“Peacock was a friend and fellow schoolmate of the deceased,” said GBI Special Agent in Charge Jamy Steinberg. “He was actually at the scene the morning of the fire. We questioned him, and he stated he had seen the victims before they died.”

Emergency service personnel were called to a rental property at 505 Rossman Dairy Road on the morning of May 15 in response to a house fire. Investigators on the scene found the bodies of Jordan Croft, 22, Jonathan Edwards, 21, Alicia Norman, 20, Jones Pidcock, 21, and Reid Williams, 21, inside the home.

The investigation began when circumstances surrounding the fire raised suspicions. The Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the GBI.

“The question everyone immediately had was how did five young adults not make it out of the house when the fire started,” Steinberg said. “In wintertime, you could expect something like carbon monoxide poisoning or the fire catching people off guard while they were sleeping, but this time of year we all felt it was suspicious that none of them made it out.”

The bodies were transported to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Macon for autopsies. Initial findings indicated that all five victims suffered gunshot wounds, according to reports.

Agencies involved in the ongoing investigation include the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit. Also assisting in the investigation is the Funston Fire Department, Moultrie Fire Department, Bay Fire Department and Northside Fire Department.

Authorities have not yet determined a motive, but the investigation continues.