In the quiet neighborhood of Knollbrook Drive in Huntsville, Alabama, a concerned relative's call to the police on the afternoon of June 19, 2018, unraveled a tragedy that would leave the community in shock. Responding to the call, officers entered the residence at 4008 Knollbrook Drive to discover a grim scene. Inside lay the bodies of three females, their lives cut short by gun violence.
The victims were identified as 42-year-old Iris Koress Bynum, her 17-year-old daughter Heaven Hines, and Heaven's 16-year-old friend, Xzariah Rice.
As investigators began to piece together the events that led to the triple homicide, a suspect quickly emerged. The focus of the investigation turned to 43-year-old Rodney Shawn Geddes, a man who had been in a relationship with Iris Bynum and had been living in the home until a recent separation. Evidence gathered at the scene pointed towards his involvement, and a search for him was initiated. The day after the discovery of the bodies, law enforcement located Geddes in Franklin County, Tennessee, walking along Interstate 24. He was taken into custody on unrelated charges, and the process of extraditing him back to Huntsville began.
Back in Alabama, the legal process moved forward. The Huntsville Police Department secured capital murder warrants for Rodney Shawn Geddes in connection with the three deaths. Following his extradition, a grand jury reviewed the evidence and handed down an indictment against him on three counts of capital murder. Geddes is currently being held in the Madison County Jail without bail, awaiting trial for the deaths of Iris Bynum, Heaven Hines, and Xzariah Rice. The community continues to mourn the loss of a mother, a daughter, and a friend, their lives tragically ended in an act of violence that shattered the peace of their suburban neighborhood.
