Assistant Principal Arrested in 11-Year-Old Triple-Murder Cold Case

A middle school assistant principal is under arrest after he was named as a suspect in a cold case involving the murder of three individuals in Georgia in 2013.

Keante Harris, 45, surrendered Wednesday to the Sheriff’s Office in Jefferson County, Alabama, on a fugitive of justice warrant issued in Clayton County, Georgia.

The charges stem from a cold case in which three people were “lured” to a home, forced at gunpoint to go inside, and then tortured and killed.

The bodies of the three were later found in Union City, Georgia, alongside Interstate 85, during a “general patrol,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen posted about the murders and the arrests on social media last week.

The same information was also made available in a news release from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.

“On Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office received 12 murder warrants for Kenneth Thompson (3 Counts of Malice Murder), Keante Harris (3 Counts of Malice Murder),
Kevin Harris (3 Counts of Malice Murder), Darrell Harris (3 Counts of Malice Murder),” he wrote.

“Upon receipt of this information, SHERIFF LEVON ALLEN immediately activated his “Elite Fugitive Unit” to locate and apprehend all four of the outstanding suspects,” the post added (emphasis original).

Those suspects were taken into custody in three states, according to the statement, and while those states weren’t named specifically, the sheriff expressed gratitude to law enforcement officers in Alabama — where Keante Harris was arrested — as well as in North and South Carolina.

The post also included the mug shots of all four men.

Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin confirmed to WVTM that Keante Harris was employed by the school system, but apparently did so before the full extent of the charges against Harris were known.

“At this time we still are gathering facts about the specifics of this situation,” Gonsoulin told the outlet.

“However, early indications are that the charges are not related to this individual’s employment with Jefferson County Schools,” he added.

“As more facts become available, we will act according to our district’s policy,” Gonsoulin.

WVTM said that Keante Harris’ social media pages said that he’d started with Jefferson County Schools in 2018.

A page on LinkedIn appeared to confirm that, showing a man who appeared to be Keante Harris starting as an athletic director and head coach in July of 2018 before becoming an assistant principal in January of 2023.