Moultrie quintuple murder suspect pleads not guilty

May 30, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WCTV) – Sounds of crying and sniffling filled the Colquitt County Annex Tuesday as Jeffrey Alan Peacock pled not guilty to the murder of five friends.

Peacock is accused of shooting and killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams in May 2016.

The five victims were found dead after a fire at a home on Rossman Dairy Road. Investigators believe Peacock set the house on fire to try to conceal the crime.

Dozens of people met in the annex parking lot and walked in together. But as the charges were read, many of those in attendance broke down in tears.

“When you find five people killed at once, that obviously has five times the impact,” says District Attorney Brad Shealy.

Breaking through the whispers, Peacock pled not guilty to all counts, causing the room to go silent.

Reopening old wounds, both the district attorney and Peacock’s attorney say the crime has a created a rift between family, friends, and neighbors.

“I think the community is obviously very divided. If you sat through the courtroom today, you could see there were people on both sides,” says Burt Baker with the Georgia Capital Defenders Office.

It could be several months before the case goes to trial.

Peacock faces the death penalty, and the average capitol case that goes to trial takes about three years.

The district attorney’s office expects the trial to be set for no earlier than the middle of 2018.

May 30, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WCTV) -- Quintuple murder suspect Jeffrey Alan Peacock has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Quintuple murder suspect Jeffrey Alan Peacock is set to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

Peacock is accused of killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams in May 2016. Authorities say Peacock shot the victims before setting fire to the home they were found in.

He will be informed of his charges and enter a plea at the Colquitt County Annex at 2 p.m.

We will have a reporter in the courtroom and will bring you more from the hearing as it develops.

May 19, 2017 -

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WCTV) -- Quintuple murder suspect Jeffrey Alan Peacock is currently making his first appearance in Colquitt County Court.

There are as many as 100 people in attendance for the hearing.

Peacock is accused of killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams in May 2016. Authorities say Peacock shot the victims before setting fire to the home they were found in.

We have a reporter in the courtroom and we will bring you more from the hearing as it develops.

May 15, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WCTV) -- The Georgia man accused in a quintuple murder in Moultrie exactly one year ago is set to be arraigned.

Jeffrey Alan Peacock is set to make his first appearance in Colquitt County Court on Friday at 2 p.m.

The prosecution is expected to formally serve its notice of the intent to seek death penalty against Peacock.

Peacock is accused of killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams in May 2016. Authorities say Peacock shot the victims before setting fire to the home they were found in.

April 3, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WCTV) -- Monday afternoon, the office of District Attorney Brad Shealy filed the official Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty in the the case against Jeffrey Alan Peacock.

A judge will be appointed to the case, and a date will be set for Peacock's first appearance.

It's been nearly 10 months since Peacock allegedly set fire to a Moultrie home, after killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams.

Court documents accuse Peacock of shooting all five people in the head. It also says two dogs died in the fire, with a rescue dog was killed before the fire and found with a cracked skull.

Peacock faces five counts of malice murder, five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, one count of first degree arson, and three counts aggravated cruelty to animals.

March 31, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. (WCTV) -- South Georgia residents now speaking out, after learning what could be in store for the man accused of a gruesome quintuple murder.

James Richter said, "I think they should forgive him. I think they should spare his life."

Sarah Perry had this to say, "I think he deserves it. I mean he took five lives, that’s a pretty big deal."

Rachel Moctezuma said, “You can't really understand how he would do that."

A community torn, nearly a year after the gruesome murder of five young adults.

Jack Crosby says even now, hearing what happen gives him chills.

"I couldn't believe it. It was just, you're sort of in awe. You just don't hear that something like that would happen around here. All friends it seemed like, and then they're just wiped out overnight. It's just unusual," Crsoby said.

Unusual that Jeffrey Peacock, could be accused of doing something like this. Investigators say Peacock shot and killed Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, Jonathan Edwards, Reid Williams and Jordan Croft, before setting the home that they were in on fire. Investigators explained that Peacock was friends with all of them. Now that same crime, Peacock could end up paying for with his own life.

"If we do that, we'll just be stooping down to his level,” said Joe Tru.

Tru says he doesn’t believe in capital punishment, no matter the crime. But, he said he can understand why family and friends might support it.

“If it was my family I'd be really mad. I would be really mad. I would want to do the same thing to him that he did to them, but that's not my place. I believe that god will take his place and he will make the judgement," Tru said.

The community might be split over what peacock's fate should be if convicted; but most agree this tragedy is something that will impact lives forever.

"I feel sorry for the families of the people that lost their loved ones. I hope God helps them, and also for that young man; he's got a family too. I know it’s got to be tearing them up," said Crosby.

District Attorney Bradfield Shealy released a statement, saying, “This case meets all the requirements for death penalty cases.”

His office will file the official notice on Monday.

March 31, 2017

COLQUITT CO., Ga. (WCTV) -- District Attorney Bradfield M. Shealy announced Friday that his office will seek the death penalty in the case against Jeffrey Alan Peacock.

Peacock is accused of shooting and killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams.

The five victims were found dead in May 2016, after a fire at a home on Rossman Dairy Road. Investigators believe Peacock set the house on fire to try to conceal the crime.

Court documents accuse Peacock of shooting all five people in the head. It also says two dogs died in the fire, and another dog was killed before the fire.

Peacock faces five counts of malice murder, five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, one count of first degree arson, and three counts aggravated cruelty to animals.

The District Attorney's office says they expect to file an official notice of intent to seek the death penalty on Monday.

District Attorney Shealy said in a statement, “This tragic case clearly meets the statutory requirements for imposition of the death penalty as set forth in the Georgia Code. I will be assisting Sr. Assistant District Attorney Jim Prine, of our Thomasville office, who will be lead counsel.”

COLQUITT CO., Ga. (WCTV) -- The indictment for Jeffrey Peacock was handed down in Colquitt County Superior Court, Tuesday morning.

It's been 9 months since Peacock allegedly set fire to a Moultrie home after killing Jordan Croft, Jonathan Edwards, Alicia Norman, Jones Pidcock, and Reid Williams.

Court documents accuse Peacock of shooting all five people in the head. It also says two dogs died in the fire, with a rescue dog was killed before the fire and found with a cracked skull.

Peacock faces five counts of malice murder, five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, one count of first degree arson, and three counts aggravated cruelty to animals.

Colquitt Co. officials say Peacock will be arraigned in April.