Defendant in sex offense trial found dead

12-9-15 Tennessee:

COOKEVILLE — A trial that was set to begin yesterday in Putnam County Criminal Court has turned into a death investigation instead.

Defendant Robert Jay Joerger, 60, who was charged last year with a total of eight counts of rape and three counts of aggravated statutory rape involving two teenage boys, was discovered dead of an apparent gunshot wound just hours after failing to show up for court.

District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway told the Herald-Citizen this morning that yesterday’s trial would have involved the charges pertaining to only one of Joerger’s alleged victims, whose family was also suing Joerger in a civil matter, and that the charges pertaining to the other victim was set to be heard separately.

“After Mr. Joerger failed to arrive at the appointed time, the judge excused the jury after a brief wait, and a search for the defendant began,” he said.

Joerger’s attorney, Doug Dennis, reportedly expressed concern for the emotional state of his client yesterday when he failed to arrive in court.

Murder-suicide suspect was registered sex offender

3-23-15 Tennessee:

David Laster, who police say killed his ex-girlfriend and himself today at the Bank of Jackson, was a registered sex offender, according to state records.

Laster was convicted of rape and aggravated rape in 1986, according to the Tennessee sex offender registry. He was sentenced to 25 years in state prison but was released early on parole.

Laster's criminal history also include charges of DUI, and domestic assault and verbal assault against ex-girlfriend Virginia Dorris in September 2014.

Jackson police say Laster, 52, shot and killed Dorris, 53, this morning before turning the gun on himself. Dorris worked at the bank, at 132 W. University Parkway. ..Source.. by The Jackson Sun

Man convicted of raping teen kills himself

2-27-15 Tennessee:

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A Clarksville man sent home to await sentencing after being found guilty of raping a teenage girl has killed himself.

Michael E. Proctor, 37, committed suicide, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jamie Dexter confirmed to The Leaf-Chronicle Friday.

A report about the suicide was not available Friday evening, he said.

Proctor was convicted Thursday of six counts of rape and several other charges on accusations he sexually abused a 13-year-old girl numerous times between July 2013 and April 2014.

The state, represented by Kimberly Lund, had one witness, the victim, who testified Proctor performed sex acts on her on at least five occasions.

Proctor took the stand in his own defense and denied all the allegations.

While his attorney, Edward Dewerff, argued her testimony was not enough to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury believed the victim.

CBS News 8 investigates: The death of Ronald Tatro

11-22-2014 California:

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (CBS 8) -- We are learning more about one of the men implicated in the murder of 14-year-old Claire Hough at Torrey Pines State Beach 30 years ago.

Last month, San Diego police officers initially reported that Ronald Tatro died in a Tennessee boating accident in 2011. But, newly obtained incident reports, autopsy records and evidence photos are leading to questions about whether Tatro may have committed suicide.

Ronald Clyde Tatro, 67, drowned in Tennessee's Holston River in 2011.

Two fishermen found his body floating face down in three feet of water. His boat was found six miles upstream, according to an incident report from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

“I know some of his personal effects were found in the boat,” said Eddie Williams, an employee with Hawkins County EMS.

Tennessee murder suspect found dead in Calhoun hotel room

5-28-2013 Tennessee:

A Tennessee man wanted in connection with a homicide in that state committed suicide Monday in a Calhoun hotel room after being surrounded law enforcement officials, according to the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the sheriff’s office:

Terry Lee Releford, 34, of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., was found at a Calhoun motel on U.S. 41 North near Interstate 75.

Gordon County deputy depites and personnel from the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Hamilton County (Tenn.) Sheriff’s Office surrounded the motel and cornered the suspect.

Communications were established with Releford but when officers entered the room they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In addition to being wanted in connection to the homicide, Releford was also wanted on an aggravated rape charge in Tennessee.

Tennessee authorities advised that Releford was a registered violent sex offender.

His death is being investigated by the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office and the Gordon County Coroner’s Office.

According to an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, police had been searching for Releford since Sunday when his wife, Tammy, was found dead.

Tennessee law enforcement officals said Releford’s wife had two juvenile daughters who were in the house where there mother was killed, but one of them was able to run to a neighbor for help, the newspaper reported. ..Source.. by The Calhoun Times

Accused sex offender kills himself as law enforcement arrive to arrest him

11-16-2012 Tennessee:

An accused sex offender who failed to show up for a motion date in Wilson County court on Tuesday killed himself as federal marshals and deputies from two counties moved in to arrest him for failing to appear.

Jason Todd Davis, 49, of Anderson Ave. in Smyrna, had been indicted in December on charges of sexual battery of a minor less than 13 years old by Lebanon Police, according to Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan.

“He had been through a preliminary hearing, was indicted, arraigned and had (pre-trial motions) set for Tuesday,” Bryan explained.

The judge in the case issued a bench warrant for Davis’ arrest, and authorities with the U.S. Federal Marshal’s Service, Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and Wilson County Sheriff’s Office moved in Tuesday to arrest him at his home.

“When they arrived, they found his vehicle parked outside,” Bryan said.

Rutherford County Detective Chuck Thomas, who is assigned to the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, said he and other officers entered the home and heard a gunshot come from a back bedroom.

Thomas said officers found Davis on his back in the bedroom with a gunshot wound. He was holding a rifle.

Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services paramedics were called to the scene, along with supervisors with the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold and Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also responded to the scene to offer its assistance, according to TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm.

“We did not open an investigation,” Helm said.

An investigation into Davis’ death would only be launched if requested by the Rutherford County District Attorney’s Office, according to Helm.

So far, no request has been made, she said.

Bryan said the situation was dangerous, and officers were lucky that the incident didn’t turn into a shootout with police.

“You just never know what is going through someone’s mind in a situation like this,” he said. ..Source.. by Mark Bell

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Wilson suspect dead in apparent suicide

11-16-2012:

A man wanted on a child sex abuse charge in Wilson County took his own life Tuesday, according to Sheriff Robert Bryan.

Federal marshals and deputies from both Wilson and Rutherford counties went to the Smyrna home of Jason Todd Davis, 48, 540 Anderson Ave., after Davis failed to show in Wilson County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

“Officers attempted several times to make contact with Mr. Davis with no response whatsoever,” said Bryan. “Officers entered the residence, and as soon as they entered the door, they heard a shot.”

According to Rutherford County Detective Chuck Thomas, assigned to the U.S. Marshals Task Force, officers found Davis with a gunshot wound lying on his back holding a rifle.

A Wilson County grand jury indicted Davis on Dec. 13 on one count of aggravated sexual battery, according to Tom Swink, assistant district attorney for the 15th Judicial District.

“The incident occurred in Lebanon on Aug. 28, 2011 and was investigated by the Lebanon Police Department,” said Swink in an email.

Davis was released in August on $10,000 bond, according to Swink.

Davis was scheduled to appear for pre-trial motions Tuesday. When he failed to appear, the judge automatically issued an arrest warrant, according to Bryan.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the case. ..Source.. by Sara McManamy-Johnson

Police: Body Found In River Is Convicted Child Rapist

3-23-2012 Tennessee:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Metro Police announced Thursday that the body removed from the Cumberland River Wednesday afternoon was convicted child rapist Dwight Farris.

Sources at the scene had previously identified the body as Farris to NewChannel 5 reporters.

Police arrived on the scene just after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

"Fire department and OEM responded and within about 30 minutes they did find a body, possibly a male subject. We believe it might be the person who threatened to commit suicide a couple of weeks ago," said Captain Natalie Lokey of the Metro Nashville Police Department.

The body was found caught up in a fallen tree along the banks of the Cumberland River near the Rock Harbor Marina in west Nashville.

Police said 52-year-old Farris had disappeared on March 8 after fleeing the Davidson County Court House during a sex crimes trial.

In lieu of his disappearance, Farris was convicted of three counts of rape, five counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, five counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, one count of displaying sex acts to a minor and one count of criminal exposure to HIV. The convictions related to his sexual relations with a 14-year-old male family friend.

Officials said that during his trial Farris was free on bond and wearing a GPS monitoring device. When police sought the signal for the device they found it had stopped sending a signal just before Farris fled. Farris was last seen on 1st Avenue North & Gay Street in downtown Nashville.

According to reports, Farris' niece flagged down a police officer that night and informed him her Uncle did not want to go to jail and would jump off a bridge. Police said that there were no reports of anyone jumping from a bridge that night.

Farris was out on a $250,000 bond during his trial, and there was a hearing set later this week to collect that bond. ..Source.. by News Channel5.com

Suicide victim wanted in Maryland sex crime

3-23-2012 Tennessee:

KNOXVILLE — The man who killed himself Sunday night in the University of Tennessee Medical Center parking lot was facing a sex-crime charge in his home state of Maryland, authorities said this week.

Knoxville police arrived at the hospital, 1924 Alcoa Highway, and found the man's body in his vehicle with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Knoxville Police Department investigators identified the man as Daryl R. Baker, 53, of Walkersville, Md., KPD Lt. Dusty Lane said.

Baker had been indicted on a sex-abuse charge in Frederick County, Md., but had not yet served with the indictment, according to the Maryland State Police. Investigators there wouldn't give further details.

Knoxville police said they still don't know why Baker, who had no known ties to East Tennessee, came here to commit suicide. ..Source.. by News Sentinel staff

Triple murder followed fight in Clarksville

Posted in Related Deaths

3-28-2010 Tennessee:

The smiling faces of Diamin Shanklin, 8, and Paul-Nellom Vullo, 3, greet their grandmother Linda Shelton every morning as she looks at her bedroom dresser scattered with their pictures, angel figurines and candles.

Every day Shelton, 62, lights a candle. Often she sobs, knowing that the pictures are all she has left of Diamin, Paul and her daughter Natalie.

Among the memorabilia is a blue urn filled with the ashes of her 30-year-old daughter, Natalie Ann Vullo, who, along with her children, was found murdered inside her Cal Court home on Feb. 20, 2009.

Gerrard E. Robinson, 31, a man with whom Vullo had had a sexual relationship, was charged with the murders. He later confessed to strangling Vullo and her children.

Sex offender kills himself

12-30-2009 Tennessee:

Police suspected man of paying girl to perform acts

The probe began last week when the 13-year-old girl darted from a couple of curious police investigators and ran for a Citico Street home.

Knoxville Police Department investigators work at a house where a body was found Tuesday at 429 Citico St. Convicted sex offender Robert G. Foxx, 74, killed himself in the house, according to police.

It ended Tuesday in the same house when police found 74-year-old convicted sex offender Robert Grey Foxx dead on his couch, a plastic bag pulled snug over his head.

Police said Foxx committed suicide.

He had been arrested Dec. 21 after an investigation revealed he started two years ago paying an 11-year-old girl for oral sex at least twice a week.

"I charged him with violation of the sex offender law by having a minor in his employ without adult supervision," said Knoxville Police Department Investigator Debra Nuchols.

She said a more serious charge of child rape could have been brought by a grand jury.

Knox County prosecutors usually opt for a grand jury presentment in order to spare child sex victims from testifying repeatedly in court.

Foxx, Nuchols said, seemed unconcerned about the felony charge.

"He was mainly worried about how he would get bonded out of jail," she said. Foxx was released from jail after posting a $10,000 bond.

Nuchols said the probe began Dec. 21 when KPD property crimes investigators Stan Cash and Clayton Madison saw a 13-year-old girl standing alone along Ailor Avenue. At the time, they were investigating thefts in the area.

"When they yelled out to her, she ran straight to his (Foxx's) house," Nuchols said.

Cash and Madison followed the girl and became suspicious when Foxx acted strangely during their inquiries. They ran Foxx's name through the law enforcement computer system and discovered he was a convicted sex offender. They immediately alerted Nuchols, and the investigation was under way.

Nuchols said Foxx told her he met the girl through her mother. He said he was looking for a house cleaner years ago and accidentally dialed the woman in Lonsdale. Despite the accidental contact, the woman, who has three daughters, agreed to clean Foxx's home, Nuchols said.

The woman, however, opted to discontinue the arrangement because Foxx kept trying to show her pornographic videos at his home.

"Mom said it made her feel uncomfortable so she sent her daughter over there," Nuchols said.

For the next two years, Nuchols said, the then 11-year-old girl would catch a KAT bus in Lonsdale and go to Foxx's house at 429 Citico St.

"She would go over to his house every Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes on Saturday, Nuchols said. "She'd get paid $10 a day."

Each day the girl would spend about two hours at Foxx's residence before returning home on another bus.

Nuchols said Foxx denied any improper contact with the girl. He claimed he was having an affair with the girl's mother.

The girl was reluctant to reveal the relationship when questioned, Nuchols said. The girl contended that for the past two years she had been cataloging the library in his home.

"She was really shy about talking about it," the investigator said. "But once she understood she hadn't done anything wrong and wasn't in trouble, she told us what had happened.

"She said he had made her watch pornography and touched her below the waist ... and finally she admitted he forced her to perform oral sex on him."

Nuchols included the state Department of Children's Services in the probe. That agency now has custody of the 13-year-old girl and her two sisters, ages 12 and 14, Nuchols said.

Nuchols said her probe is not closed just because of Foxx's suicide.

"I'd like to get mom on a polygraph to see what she knew," Nuchols said.

As of Wednesday, no charge has been filed against the girl's mother.

"The girl said she never told her mom about what was going on," Nuchols said.

Foxx was convicted in 1991 of gross sexual imposition with a 15-year-old in Columbus, Ohio, records show. He had obtained a doctorate in psychiatry in Ohio before his conviction, said KPD Deputy Chief Gary Price. Upon his release from prison, he came to Knoxville.

Foxx apparently was a renowned chess player, also. He regularly set up a chess board in the food court of West Town Mall to play youngsters. That practice ended in 2007 after the News Sentinel featured Foxx in a picture in a match with a boy at the mall and police alerted mall security of Foxx's status as a registered sex offender.

"After that, he was no longer welcomed at the mall," Price said.

Price said it appears Foxx had attempted to compose a suicide note, but he had not finished the effort.

"Talking to his daughter, he had been putting his affairs in order," Price said. That discussion helped police conclude that Foxx had opted to commit suicide rather than face another stint in prison. ..Source.. by Don Jacobs

Murfreesboro child abuse suspect commits suicide

12-9-2009 Tennessee:

A newly employed pediatric nurse who was soon to be arrested and charged with child sexual abuse reportedly killed himself Thursday by jumping from a medical office building in Nashville, police reported.

Elliot Lash, 26, of Peachtree Street in Murfreesboro, jumped from the top of his workplace as Murfreesboro Police Detective Tommy Roberts worked to arrest him on sex charges, according to a Murfreesboro Police incident report.

The man's wife reported her husband to police after she found a "disturbing video" on a home laptop, according to a report filed by Roberts.

The video reportedly showed Elliot Lash inappropriately touching a child, whose age was redacted in a police report, according to the police report. The child was shown on the camera naked.

Lash's wife, who admitted she'd had trouble in her marriage for the past six years, had recently moved back to her mother's home when she found the video file on a laptop computer her husband had used.

She contacted police in reference to the video. Less than halfway through the material, Murfreesboro Police Officer Jason Harding knew, "I had watched enough to know that a detective was needed from that point."

Detective Roberts took over the investigation at that point. During his investigation he confiscated three computers belonging to Elliot Lash.

"Investigators found hundreds of images and video on the three computers," said Murfreesboro Police spokesman Kyle Evans. "They've been sent to the TBI for forensic analysis. Investigators want to see if these are downloaded images or images he may have taken himself."

Roberts later obtained warrants for sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual battery and contacted Lash by phone.

"I asked him to come in and speak with me," Roberts said. "I went by his place of employment, St. Thomas Medical Group, Pediatrics (Dr. Timothy Mangrum) and was told he did not show up for work."

Later that same day, Roberts received a call from Brent Horst, Lash's attorney. Horst told the detective he would tell Lash to turn himself in, but was not sure that he would.

That same night I received a call from Metro Detective Steven Jolly ... (who) stated it appeared Lash had committed suicide by jumping off a building," Roberts reported.

Evans said investigators may, at some point, work in concert with the Metro Nashville Police Department on the case.

"We're looking to see if there are other people involved in the trade of these materials and to see if we can identify more victims, as his tenure in the medical field was always as a pediatric nurse," Evans said. "If the evidence reveals those are pictures he took, we would ask Nashville to get involved in the investigation, since the doctor's office he worked at is located in Nashville."

However, Chief Operating Officer Bill Grayson of Nashville Healthcare Solutions, said Lash had only worked for St. Thomas Medical Group for "six days" and had very little access to patients of Mangrum.

The medical group is not owned or operated by Saint Thomas Health Services, which owns Saint Thomas Hospital and Middle Tennessee Medical Center. The medical group's office building is attached to Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville and doctors with the medical group have privileges to practice at the hospital.

"To the best of our knowledge, he was never alone and never unsupervised in a patient room," Grayson said. "We hope that ... quashes any nervousness about anyone thinking he committed any impropriety here."

Grayson added that the medical practice hired Lash because he had no marks on his criminal background, he passed a drug screen and he had good references.

"His (criminal) background was completely negative (for any charges)," Grayson said.

A statement released by Grayson on behalf of St. Thomas Medical Group says: "We are saddened to acknowledge the tragic death of one of our employees on December 3, 2009. Elliot Lash was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and had dedicated his life to nursing.

"Mr. Lash became an employee of (the St. Thomas Medical Group) on November 23, 2009, was still in training, and in the short time we knew him was a very personable co-worker," the release reads. "This tragic incident has been a shock for our staff and our patients, and we wish Mr. Lash's family and friends solemn condolences at this difficult time."

Kristen Helm with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said she could not comment on any evidence being processed by the TBI. ..Source.. by MARK BELL • GANNETT TENNESSEE

TN- Overton inmate found dead

6-8-2009 Tennessee:

LIVINGSTON -- The TBI is investigating the death of an Overton County jail inmate on Friday.

Thomas Morgan, 71, of Smyrna and formerly of Overton County, was being held on charges of sex offenses against a child, according to Assistant District Attorney Owen Burnett.

He had been picked up by authorities in Smyrna on Thursday and turned over to Livingston Police Chief Greg Etheredge and DA's Investigator Terry Hembree, who brought him to the Overton County jail that night.

Etheredge said that sometime in the early morning hours of Friday, Morgan was found in his jail cell suffering from an apparent suicide attempt in which he had tied a bed sheet around his neck after connecting the sheet to some type of fixture in the cell.

He was taken to Livingston Regional Hospital, where he died.

Morgan had lived in Overton County for a time and had recently moved away, Etheredge said.

Etheredge and Hembree began an investigation of him after the mother of a young girl filed a complaint alleging that Morgan had sexually molested the girl. The charges on which Morgan had been recently indicted included rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery.

"Investigator Hembree and I went to Smyrna looking for him after the grand jury here indicted him, but we could not find him at that time, which was on Wednesday," Etheredge said.

The next day, the Smyrna Police Department did find Morgan, and Etheredge and Hembree returned to Smyrna and transported Morgan back to Livingston.

Burnett confirmed that Morgan had been jailed in Overton County around 9 p.m. Thursday, his bond set at $100,000, and that he was found unconscious in his jail cell later that night.

Allegedly, Morgan had a record of sex offenses in California, Etheredge said.

The TBI was called in to investigate the death. ..Source.. by Mary Jo Denton, Herald-Citizen Staff

TN- Police say man killed self, two daughters

Posted in Related Deaths

3-25-2006 Tennessee:

Local man shoots, kills himself as officer discovers rape charge

The bodies of two young girls and their father, a Clarksville man wanted on rape charges, were found in a car in Oak Ridge Thursday following what police are calling a murder-suicide.

Richard Alfonso Howard, 32, was approached Thursday morning in his car by a TVA police officer patrolling a parking lot at the Bull Run Fossil plant, about 15 miles west of Knoxville in East Tennessee, said Jim Carver, director of TVA police.

The officer asked Howard why he was there, and Howard said he had run out of gas and was waiting for someone, Carver said.

The officer initially did not notice the girls, who were covered in the back of the vehicle, Carver said. After the officer ran a check on Howard's plate numbers, he discovered the outstanding rape warrants.

When he returned to Howard's Ford Crown Victoria he found him slumped over the steering wheel, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Police searched the car and found the bodies of Howard's daughters — Brionna, 3, and Markayla, 2 — with a suicide note in which he admitted to killing them, police said.

Investigators declined to say when or how the toddlers died. Howard had two outstanding rape warrants involving a 15-year-old girl at a local motel last summer.

The teen told Clarksville police in August Howard took her to the Holiday Drive motel on July 4 and forced her to have sex with him against her will, according to a report by CPD Detective Shane Dortch. ..more.. by HEATHER DONAHOE