With witnesses refusing to cooperate, charges have been dismissed against the two suspects charged with the murder of Billy Ray Peeples.
Atoya Savell, 37, and Victor Manor, 31, were both charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Peeples, also known as “the Peanut Man.”
Those charges against Savell and Manor were dismissed without prejudice, which means those charges could return to the suspects pending the investigation.
“Unfortunately, people we had cooperating with us just quit for some unknown reason,” said Police Chief Ron Sampson. “But we are not going to let this go by the wayside. We are going to get the victim’s family some resolve.”
Peeples was discovered June 11 inside a Jerry Clower Boulevard building with head wounds after friends reported last seeing him the previous Friday. He died June 19 after remaining unresponsive for over a week following those head injuries. An autopsy was performed at a state laboratory confirmed that he was “definitely beaten.”
Savell and Manor were arrested earlier this month in connection with the murder. They were released from jail this week. But Sampson said the case is not over.
“We are developing more evidence and witnesses,” Sampson said. “We are not leaving any stone unturned. We will be moving forward aggressively with our investigation. Everybody thinks it’s over, but it is not.”
