Friday, June 8, 2012

Ala. man sought in slayings of twins

  • Alabama investigators are looking for 22-year-old Deandra Lee
  • Murder warrants have been issued for Lee in connection with the killings
  • Police say the bodies of the twins and their babysitter were found on a dirt road
  • Investigators will not identify a possible motive in the case

(CNN) -- Alabama authorities warn that a 22-year-old man wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of 9-year-old twins and their elderly babysitter should be considered armed and dangerous.

The warning Thursday by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation came as warrants were issued for the arrest of Deandra Marquis Lee.

"Today, murder warrants were obtained for Lee," the bureau said in a written statement.

The announcement followed news earlier this week that the bodies of the twins, Jordan and Taylor DeJerinett, and 73-year-old Jack Mac Girdner were found on a dirt road near Hayneville, southwest of Montgomery, state investigators said.

The children and Girdner, according to the bureau investigators, were last seen Sunday when the twins' mother left them in the care of the babysitter.

When the twins' mother returned later that night to pick them up from the suburban Montgomery home of the babysitter, the children and Girdner were missing, investigators said, along with Girdner's car, a 1988 Mercedes Benz.

Their bodies were discovered Wednesday just off a dirt road, investigators said.

Authorities refused to release a possible motive in the killings, though confirmed the three were shot.

State investigators did not say what evidence connected Lee to the case.

Girdner's car was found -- with its doors removed -- Thursday in Minter, they said.

Authorities said they had developed information that Lee was in and around the city of Selma.

Lee, according to state investigators, has a history of trouble with the law. He was acquitted of murder in 2011 in connection with a 2008 shooting that prosecutors say was gang-related.

Lee is currently out on bond following January 2012 charges in Dallas County that he assaulted a police officer and was in possession of gun with an altered ID number, state investigators said.

According to court records, Lee was also arrested on a third-degree robbery charge and released on $10,000 bond in Lowndes County in February 2012 for allegedly stealing a Honda Accord in 2011.

CNN's Joe Sutton contributed to this report.