KINGSLAND, Ga. – A man wanted on murder warrants accusing him of killing his girlfriend and her son in North Carolina on Monday was arrested Tuesday at a hotel in Camden County, according to the Kingsland Police Department.
The Gaston County, North Carolina, Police Department said 38-year-old Bridget McCall Berry and 17-year-old Treyvon "TJ" Berry were found dead in a burning home.
Recommended Videos
Late Monday, a Kingsland patrol officer investigating a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of the Magnolia Inn noticed a 1995 Chevrolet Suburban with North Carolina plates in the same lot. A registration check identified there was a hold out for the SUV in connection to an arson fire with fatalities.
Police learned that the person of interest in that homicide case -- Peter James Rivers -- was a registered guest at the hotel. Kingsland officers set up a surveillance at the hotel and, along with the Camden County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations apprehended Rivers.
A search of his room and the Suburban turned up items that belonged to one of the homicide victims and a prescription bottle in another person's name.
Rivers was arrested on possession of dangerous drugs by Kingsland police, and detectives with the Gaston County police interviewed him. On Thursday, Rivers was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Rivers waived extradition in his hearing in Georgia and will be returned to Gaston County to face prosecution.
North Carolina officials said at a press conference Wednesday that the victims did not die as a result of the fire, and that they may have died sometime between Thursday and Monday. They did not say how exactly the pair was killed.
Investigators told WBTV in Charlotte they did know how long Bridget Barry and Rivers were in a relationship.
He will return to Gaston County where the warrants will be served and his court date will be scheduled. Police say Rivers has not been charged with arson but say the case is still under investigation.