A mother tracking her teenage son’s cellphone after he failed to return home from Halloween activities discovered the 15-year-old boy shot to death inside an abandoned Georgia residence.
The Albany Police Department subsequently arrested four people in connection with the death of 15-year-old Austin Payne, charging all of them with murder and transporting them to the Dougherty County Jail.
Officers responded on Nov. 1 to the 800 block of Cameo Lane in Albany, where they located Payne dead inside the vacant home. During a Nov. 2 news conference, Albany Police Chief Michael Persley stated that the teenager had reached out for help after the shooting, noting, He did make a call to his mother that he had been shot.
The suspects taken into custody include 22-year-old Detravion Parke (also referred to in records as Detravion Parker), alongside two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old. To reconstruct the events leading up to the homicide, investigators reviewed surveillance video, cellphone records, and witness statements.
According to witness accounts provided to police, armed individuals approached a group walking with Payne, demanded their belongings, and opened fire. Investigators indicated that Payne might have been targeted during an attempted robbery connected to a handgun he had recently displayed on social media.
Payne’s family has organized a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses. A relative shared that the teenager would have celebrated his 16th birthday on Nov. 12, adding, Our family is trying to process this heartbreaking loss.
Payne is survived by his mother and his 17-year-old sister.
The Albany Police Department continues to ask anyone with additional information to contact investigators at 229-431-2100.
