THE man accused of killing four people he says he considered to be family has proclaimed his innocence in a bizarre jailhouse interview.

Austin Drummond maintained his innocence in the murders of his four relatives, instead alleging that his cover as an FBI informant was compromised in the weeks preceding the July 29 incidents.

Facing the possibility of a death sentence for the brutal killings, Drummond claimed that upon his release from incarceration in September 2024, he was recruited by prosecutors in Tennessee to help tackle drug trafficking within the state’s prison system.

In an interview from jail with CBS affiliate WTVF, Drummond stated he fled after learning his secret role as an informant had been compromised and around the time his relatives were killed.

The suspect claimed he helped officials, including the FBI, arrest drug dealers, corrupt police officers, and take down gang members.

“But they found out I was an informant, and I didn’t know. I was afraid because I knew that bad things happened,” Drummond told the outlet.

Drummond also admitted that he was a member of the Vice Lords gang during his prison stint for armed robbery and kidnapping charges.

“You know, I was afraid that because I was an informant things would go wrong, things would happen to me.”

He insisted he had “no reason” to murder the relatives, named as Adrianna Williams, 20, James “Matthew” Wilson, 21, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15.

However, he did say, without going into detail, that he was “somehow directly involved” in the killings.

Drummond declined to discuss the details of the murders or explain why the 7-month-old daughter of Adrianna and Wilson was discovered abandoned in a stranger’s front yard in Tigrett, roughly 40 miles away from where the relatives’ bodies were found in Tiptonville.

Lake County District Attorney Danny Goodman Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FBI’s field office in Tennessee referred all comments to the US Attorney’s Office for the western district of Tennessee.

Goodman Jr. told WTVF that there was “no doubt in his mind” that Drummond committed the murders and that there is a “clear motive.”

But, the district attorney said he was unable to respond specifically to what Drummond said.

Goodman Jr. added that Drummond’s conversation with the news outlet will be added to his office’s criminal case against him.

WARPED FAMILY TREE

Since Drummond’s arrest on August 5, disturbing information has emerged about his link to the four victims.

Drummond, 28, is set to become a father to a baby with his girlfriend Kaitlyn Speed, who is the sister of victim Cortney Rose.

She is also the aunt of Adrianna and Braydon Williams.

Speed is set to give birth to Drummond’s son on October 20, according to the couple’s online baby registry, which was viewed by The U.S. Sun.

Speed was employed as a correctional officer at the Northwest Correctional facility, during Drummond’s 13-year sentence from October 2023 to October 2024, as reported by Fox affiliate WHBQ.

It’s unclear if Drummond and Speed began dating before, during, or after his time behind bars.

During a court appearance on August 14, Drummond’s court appointed attorney asked the judge to remove a restraining order so that his client could speak with Speed.

A judge denied Drummond’s request.

Drummond has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping, and five separate gun charges.

He is being held without bond.

Goodman Jr., the Lake County district attorney, previously said that his office plans to seek the death penalty.