In the quiet agricultural town of Moultrie, Georgia, a horrific scene unfolded on November 8, 2004, forever altering the community. On that day, 25-year-old Jaime Cruz Resendez, a Hispanic male, was found murdered in his home in what was described by investigators as an execution-style slaying. The tragedy, however, extended far beyond a single loss of life, revealing a mass murder of shocking brutality. Also found dead were his 29-year-old wife, Katrina 'Tina' Darlene Resendez, their young 3-year-old son, Juan Carlos Resendez, Tina's 50-year-old mother, Betty Watts, and the family's 30-year-old housekeeper and friend, Liliana Alegria Aguilar.
The gruesome discovery was made late in the afternoon when four older children, returning from school, entered the home to find the adults' bodies. The 12-year-old nephew of the Resendez couple quickly fled the house with a cordless phone and dialed 911. Investigators found the bodies of Jaime and Katrina Resendez in a hallway, while the housekeeper was in the living room and the grandmother was in a bathroom. Both Katrina Resendez and the housekeeper had been bound. All the victims appeared to have been shot. Initially, young Juan Carlos was thought to be missing, but his body was later found in a bedroom, concealed between a mattress and a headboard, a final, desperate attempt by his father, it is believed, to hide him from the assailants.
The investigation into the quintuple homicide pointed to a motive rooted in 'drugs and money.' Law enforcement officials indicated that Jaime Resendez was the target due to his involvement in a marijuana trafficking ring that operated between Texas and Moultrie. The other victims were tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. This connection to a larger criminal enterprise guided the protracted, 21-month investigation that followed.
The first breakthrough in the case came in August 2006, with the arrests of two individuals from Nashville, Georgia: 45-year-old Jerry Johnny Thompson Jr. and 20-year-old Wilma Ann Yvonne Stover. Both were charged with five counts of murder. The investigation continued, and in November 2010, a third suspect, 32-year-old Alexander Woods III, was also charged with five counts of murder in connection with the slayings. As the legal process began to unfold, it was announced that prosecutors would seek the death penalty for Jerry Johnny Thompson. Wilma Ann Yvonne Stover was to be tried separately, and the prosecution would not seek capital punishment in her case. The trials and subsequent legal proceedings aimed to bring justice for the five lives tragically cut short in one of Colquitt County's most infamous crimes.
