| Sources |
- [S52] Miller Funeral Home, (http://www.millerfuneralhome.org), 26 Mar 2012.
Johnny R. Payne obituary
- [S52] Miller Funeral Home, (http://www.millerfuneralhome.org), 25 Nov 2010.
(July 16, 1975 - November 25, 2010)
Steven Louis Payne, age 35, of Maryville, passed away, Thursday, November 25, 2010 at home. Steve had a large family who he loved very much and they loved him in return. He is survived by his mamaw, Betty Henry; mother, Brenda Payne; brother, Tony Payne and wife, Tawsha; father, John Payne; very special aunt, Mamaw Kat and Kenneth; nephews and niece, Mitchel, Zachary and Michelle; aunts, Pat Davis, and Gail Tipton; uncle, John Henry; special cousins, Kim, Jackie and Larry; other cousins include, Bryan, Angie, John, Karen, Tiffany and Greg; special friend, Aunt Betty; great uncles, Bill and Loretta Eakins, and Paul Eakins; numerous other aunts, uncles and cousins; and all of Steve’s co-workers at Aubrey’s. Funeral service will be 7:00 p.m. Monday, November 29, 2010 at Miller Funeral Home Magnolia Chapel, Rev. Raymond Couey officiating. Graveside service and interment will be 2:00 p.m. Tuesday at Clark’s Grove Cemetery. Family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday at Miller Funeral Home, Maryville, (865) 982-6041, www.millerfuneralhome.org.
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 28 May 2013.
Testimony begins in Thomas trial; man charged in death of childhood friend Payne
By J.J. Kindred | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
A Blount County Circuit Court jury Tuesday afternoon heard the testimony of a woman who was in the apartment of a Maryville man at the time of his slaying on Nov. 24, 2010.
Kristi Dixon, of Maryville, testified during the first day of the trial of Bryan Kevin Thomas, 39, Sevierville, who was charged in the death of his childhood friend, 35-year-old Steven Payne. The victim was a manager at the Maryville Aubrey’s at the time and was found dead by authorities on Nov. 25, 2010, when they conducted a welfare check at his apartment after family members became concerned when he did not show up for Thanksgiving dinner.
Authorities believe robbery was the apparent motive in Payne’s slaying. Thomas admitted to stealing a television and Blu-ray player from Payne’s apartment and later selling them for money and drugs. However, he denied killing Payne.
Dixon testified in front of Blount County Assistant District Attorney Shari Tayloe that she had met Thomas two or three weeks before the slaying but did not know Payne.
Dixon testified Tuesday that on Nov. 24, 2010, she was at the residence of one of Thomas’ friends in a trailer park in the Eagleton Village area, where she was smoking crack with Thomas. Dixon said his friend had issues with her being at the residence, and that’s when Thomas called Payne and asked for a ride. Thomas walked to the back of the trailer to get a change of clothes, then walked through the trailer park before Payne showed up and took both Thomas and Dixon back to his apartment.
At victim’s home
Once they were at Payne’s apartment and were watching TV, Dixon testified, Thomas called her into the bedroom and claimed that the TV and Blu-ray player were his and that he had loaned them to Payne.
Dixon said she fell asleep in the bedroom and was awakened by Payne looking for something. She then moved to a love seat in the living room where she fell asleep again. When Dixon was awakened by Thomas, he told her to use the bathroom and they needed to leave.
Seven minutes after coming out of the bathroom, Dixon said she noticed that half the lights in the apartment were turned off, but were previously on. Dixon also noticed the TV had been moved from its stand. She walked by Payne, who was laying on the couch with a red fleece blanket covering him, and thought he was sleeping.
Dixon also testified that Thomas called another friend to come get them, and he and the friend loaded the TV and Blu-ray player into the man’s car, along with a large black garbage bag.
“He was a black guy, and he asked me if I was Kevin’s lady, and I said no,” Dixon said. “He was rolling a blunt.”
Dixon said they were taken to a hotel where they were going to do drugs and it became apparent that Thomas had traded in the TV and Blu-ray player for money and drugs. While they were in the room, Thomas changed into the clothes he brought from the friend’s house at the trailer park.
“He didn’t have money prior to being at (the friend’s) house,” Dixon said.
During cross-examination by Thomas’ attorney, Ashley Bentley, Dixon used a diagram of the apartment to show where the TV was located and where Payne was when his body was found.
“I never saw any blood,” Dixon said. “I didn’t even think about it. (Thomas) said he would have to knock him out, but I didn’t think anything of it.”
Dixon added that she did not know what ultimately happened to the black garbage bag or what was in it.
Officer on scene
Testimony was also given by Maryville patrolman Jesse Jarnigan, who was among the first officers to arrive at the apartment after family members called police requesting a welfare check on Payne when they didn’t hear from him.
Payne’s car was still in the parking lot when Jarnigan arrived.
“I ran the registration on the car and it came back to Mr. Payne,” Jarnigan testified. “The family showed up, I got some information, and I made an attempt to contact the landlord to get the key. There was no key because the locks had been changed.”
Jarnigan testified that he called for other officers to come to the scene. They forced their way into the apartment, and saw one light was on, but used flashlights to walk through since it was mostly dark. He said he saw somebody lying on the couch, which turned out to be Payne, and he immediately notified the Criminal Investigation Division and the police chief.
“The apartment smelled like death,” Jarnigan said.
Thomas is being held in the Blount County Detention Center on $750,000 bond on charges of criminal homicide, several counts of violation of probation granted after a misdemeanor conviction and contempt of court.
The trial will continue at 9 a.m. today with further testimony.
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 31 May 2013.
Jury finds Sevierville man, Thomas, guilty of murdering childhood friend Payne
By J.J. Kindred | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
A Blount County Circuit Court jury Friday found a Sevierville man guilty of murdering his childhood friend in 2010.
The jury of nine men and three women deliberated for close to three hours to convict Bryan Kevin Thomas, 39, in the Nov. 24, 2010, death of 35-year-old Steven Payne, a manager at the Maryville Aubrey’s.
Thomas was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder while perpetrating a theft, and one count of theft greater than $500 but less than $1,000.
With his attorney Ashley Bentley by his side, Thomas showed no emotion as the verdict was read. However, his family members in the courtroom were teary-eyed, while Payne’s family and friends showed signs of relief and satisfaction.
Judge David Duggan set a sentencing hearing for July 15, at which Thomas could possibly face life in prison.
Authorities found Payne dead on Nov. 25, 2010, when they conducted a welfare check at his apartment after family members became concerned when he did not show up for Thanksgiving dinner.
Authorities believed that robbery was the apparent motive in Payne’s slaying. Thomas admitted to stealing a television and Blu-ray player from Payne’s apartment and later selling them for money and drugs, but denied killing Payne.
Cause of death
Testimony was given Friday by Dr. Murray Marks, a forensic anthropologist with the University of Tennessee Medical Center, who consulted Dr. Steven Cogswell, a forensic scientist at UT who testified to the cause of Payne’s injuries Thursday, about the specifics of bone fractures.
He concluded that Payne suffered four strikes to the skull, two to the front and two to the side. Investigators were not able to find a weapon.
The defense made a last-ditch effort to claim that someone else may have killed Payne, by bringing in Shannon Malanga, a friend of Payne’s. Malanga testified without the jury present to make sure she was a credible witness.
Malanga said a man Payne met at Two Doors Down in downtown Maryville allegedly threw a rock through a window on Payne’s vehicle.
“He was frustrated,” Malanga said of Payne. “He told me if anything happened to him, to investigate Two Doors Down.”
Blount County Assistant District Attorney Shari Tayloe immediately objected to Malanga’s testimony, saying that it was hearsay. After some discussion, Duggan agreed with Tayloe, and Malanga did not testify in front of the jury.
Earlier testimony
Kristi Dixon, of Maryville, testified during the first day of Thomas’ trial Tuesday. She testified in front of Tayloe that she had met Thomas two or three weeks before the slaying but did not know Payne.
Dixon was at the residence of one of Thomas’ friends in a trailer park in the Eagleton Village area, where she was smoking crack with Thomas. He later called Payne and asked for a ride.
Thomas walked to the back of the trailer to get a change of clothes, then walked through the trailer park before Payne showed up and took both Thomas and Dixon back to his apartment.
Once they were at Payne’s apartment and were watching TV, Dixon testified, Thomas called her into the bedroom and claimed that the TV and Blu-ray player were his and that he had loaned them to Payne.
Dixon said she fell asleep in the bedroom and was awakened by Payne looking for something. She then moved to a love seat in the living room where she fell asleep again. When Dixon was awakened by Thomas, he told her to use the bathroom and they needed to leave.
Seven minutes after coming out of the bathroom, Dixon said she noticed that half the lights in the apartment were turned off, but were previously on. Dixon also noticed the TV had been moved from its stand. She walked by Payne, who was laying on the couch with a red fleece jacket covering him, and thought he was sleeping.
Dixon also testified that Thomas called an associate, Nicholas Buchanan, to come get them, and he and Buchanan loaded the TV and Blu-ray player into Buchanan’s car, along with a large black garbage bag, which was assumed to be filled with a change of clothes.
TV, Blu-ray traded
They were taken to a hotel where they were going to do drugs, and it became apparent that Thomas had traded in the TV and Blu-ray player for money and drugs. While they were in the room, Thomas changed into the clothes he brought from the friend’s house at the trailer park.
Dixon said she never saw any blood, and while she didn’t think about what it might have meant, said that Thomas told her he would have to “knock that (expletive) out.”
Buchanan, who met Thomas about three to six months before the homicide, testified Wednesday that he had a business/casual relationship with Thomas, trading money or merchandise for drugs.
Buchanan said Thomas texted him on his cell phone the day of the homicide, telling him he had something for him to pick up, which was the television. He said he drove to Payne’s apartment, waited near the front door, and he and Thomas carried the television to the back seat of Buchanan’s vehicle. He never went inside of Payne’s apartment, nor did he know who lived there.
Buchanan said he dropped Thomas and Dixon, whom he had never met, off at the Comfort Suites Hotel on Alcoa Highway. Buchanan said he got out of his vehicle and paid Thomas for the TV and the Blu-ray player and left. He later came to the trailer park where Thomas was picked up by Payne the day of the homicide, and paid Thomas the rest of the money owed to him.
Buchanan was arrested by police the next day on a violation of probation change, and helped authorities locate Thomas at the trailer park.
Police testimony
Maryville Police Sgt. Ronnie Pryor testified Wednesday that he was the investigator on-call the night of the homicide. He said Payne’s apartment was dark except for one light. As Tayloe showed Pryor pictures of the couch where Payne was found dead, there was a red fleece jacket covering him and blood specks on the wall and on the right arm of the couch. Pictures were also shown of blood specks on the ceiling.
The TV and Blu-ray player were swabbed for blood, where droplets were found on both, and also on a pair of tennis shoes Thomas was wearing. The TV and Blu-ray player were presented as evidence in the court room, where the blood droplet areas were shown to the jury, defense and Duggan.
Tayloe showed a Nov. 26, 2010, video interview Thomas had with Pryor and then-lead investigator Detective Donnie Debuty. The officers informed Thomas of blood found on Payne’s couch, as well as skull fragments.
Debuty, who now works in security for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, said Buchanan was very cooperative in helping him and other investigators apprehend Thomas. But during Thomas’ interview, after being told of evidence found in the apartment, he instantly denied killing Payne.
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 62260442).
- [S131] Divorce Record.
Husband's Name Wife's First Name Wife's Maiden Name County Court Date of Divorce File #
PAYNE JOHNNY R BRENDA M [NOT GIVEN] BLOUNT CIRCUIT 02-06-1989 01833
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