Search for ‘armed, dangerous’ triple murder suspect continues; one victim was divorcing suspect

Published 10:37 am Tuesday, May 26, 2020

One of the victims of a triple slaying in Alabama was in the middle of a divorce with the suspect and had filed a motion for him to be held in contempt of court three days before the shooting deaths, court documents revealed.

Decatur police said Carson Ray Peters, 58, is accused of capital murder in the shooting deaths of Teresa Lynn Peters, 54, and two others on Sunday night in Morgan County, near Danville. He’s considered armed and dangerous, and was still wanted by law enforcement as of Tuesday morning.

Carson Peters had filed for divorce from Teresa Peters in January and moved out of their home, news outlets reported. Court documents show Teresa Peters filed a motion on May 21 to hold Carson Peters in contempt of court, claiming he locked her personal belongings and the air conditioning units from their home inside a shed and left with the key.

The motion says Teresa Peters “has been unable to obtain her personal belongings for a few months and there is currently no air conditioning in the home,” WHNT-TV reported.

Police said they believe Peters killed James Edward Miller, 55, of Lacey’s Spring and Tammy Renee Smith, 50, of Danville, alongside his estranged wife on Sunday. A fourth person was wounded and hospitalized. The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that Carson Peters and any other persons of interest were believed to have left the area.