Fishermen discover man’s body after he was shot and killed by his sons, TN cops say
A man was found shot dead in his driveway, Tennessee deputies said. Now, his sons have been charged with murder.
On April 1, fishermen were on the Watauga River in Elizabethton when they noticed a man lying on the ground, according to a news release from the Carter County Sheriff’s Office.
The fishermen yelled out to the man, and hearing no answer, they called 911 and “took a closer look,” deputies said.
When officers arrived, they found 63-year-old William “Bill” Hitchcock Jr. dead in his driveway with a gunshot wound, according to the release.
After more than a month of investigation, deputies said Hitchcock Jr.’s two sons have been charged with murder.
“During the course of the investigation, Bill Hitchcock’s sons, Jacob Hitchcock and Joshua Hitchcock, were developed as suspects,” Sheriff Mike Fraley said in the news release. “On Monday morning investigators presented their findings to the Carter County Grand Jury, which handed down the indictments charging the brothers with first-degree murder and an indictment charging Jacob’s wife ... with filing a false report.”
All three were arrested on May 8 and taken into custody, deputies said.
Court records show Jacob Hitchcock, 31, was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Joshua Hitchcock, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to court records.
In court documents obtained by WCYB, deputies said the brothers discussed killing their father after they found out a home that they were supposed to inherit had been put on the market.
Deputies said Joshua Hitchcock was angry his father had managed his money poorly, requiring him to sell the house, and he texted his brother that he was “going to start carrying my pistol riding my bike and do a drive by on him when I get the chance,” according to court documents, WCYB reported.
Hitchcock Jr. was shot less than an hour after the brothers discovered the home was under contract, the court documents said, according to WCYB.
The investigation into his death is ongoing, Fraley said.
Elizabethton is in the northeast corner of Tennessee, about 140 miles northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.
This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Fishermen discover man’s body after he was shot and killed by his sons, TN cops say."
