[Aztlan] Pierre Robert Colas murder suspects in custody

[SUE GLENN]

Listeros,

We are all horrified by this unbelievable tragedy.  This news update just appeared on the Tennessean.com website.

Sue Glenn

UPDATED: Police to charge four in murder of Vanderbilt professor
By RACHEL STULTS • Staff Writer • August 29, 2008
Police have identified and are in the process of charging four people in the murder of respected Vanderbilt University professor Pierre Colas in his East Nashville home Tuesday night.
The suspects in custody are: Thomas Andrew Reed, 20; Michael Shane Holloway, 22; George Eugene Cody, 29; and Gennyfer Dawn Hutcherson, 35. They are being charged with criminal homicide in the death of Colas and attempted criminal homicide in the shooting of his sister, Marie Colas.
Police believe robbery was the primary motive, and it appears the suspects did not know Colas.
On Thursday afternoon, police discovered items were being purchased from various businesses using Colas’ identification, said Lt. Danny Driskell in a news conference tonight. Surveillance tapes recovered from the businesses showed the individuals laughing and smiling while making those purchases. The videos also showed the vehicle that was used.
At 4 a.m. Friday, Officer Kenneth Bray was patrolling the area where the murder occurred when he spotted a car outside a house on West Sharpe Avenue that matched the description of the one used in the purchases, Driskell said. Bray stepped out of his cruiser to get a closer look at the license tag, and a man stepped out of the house to meet him on his front porch. Police found two other men on the porch and a woman inside.
Cody and Hutcherson share the home at West Sharpe Avenue, which is about two blocks away from Colas' home. Reed and Holloway were staying at a LaQuinta Inn on Sidgo Drive in South Nashville. Police obtained a search warrant for the residence, the three hotel rooms at LaQuinta Inn and the car. They found the purchased merchandise as well as items that had been taken from Colas’ home.
Police said the four suspects know each other through a relative, and that Reed and Holloway were here working with a group that was selling magazines.
Marie Colas is still in stable but very critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, police said.
Check back at Tennessean.com for more updates as they are available.