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- [S124] Brown Funeral Home, Newport, Tennessee, (http://www.newportfunerals.com), 3 Sep 2009.
Gene Autry Henderson obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 29 May 2012.
Three die in mobile home fire; Agencies investigating as possible triple homicide
Christina Cowan, top left, sister to victim Terri Henderson, holds one of the few photos she has of her sister. The photo was rescued from the fire. Timmy Henderson, top right, walks beside his burned home where firefighters found the bodies of his mother, Terri Henderson, her boyfriend, Sherman Ellison, and their son, Riley Gene.
Author: Rick Hooper
HARTFORD-Three people who died in a Saturday evening fire may been victims of a homicide.
Members of the Tennessee Fire Marshal's Office have been called into investigate the blaze, which destroyed the mobile home at 3605 Henderson Road, according to Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes.
"I've assigned three detectives to the case," said Fontes. "We are working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, state Bomb and Arson and the District Attorney General's Office.
"Right now, we're treating it as a criminal case until we get more information."
Family members kept a vigil at the victims' house through Memorial Day despite heat near 90 degrees. Sheriff Fontes expressed the families' sentiment: "It was a horrible crime."
While there has yet to be positive identification available, the family members said they just knew the victims were their family members, Terri Henderson, her two-year-old son Riley Gene and Henderson's boyfriend, Sherman Ellison. Fontes said the remains of the victims have been sent to the University of Tennessee to be positively identified and to determine the cause of death.
When asked if the fire is believed to be arson, Fontes said, "I can't elaborate."
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 28 May 2012.
3 bodies found in burned home in Cocke County
By Kristi L. Nelson
Three people dead after a fire destroyed a trailer Saturday night in the Grassy Fork community of Cocke County were likely murdered, Sheriff Armando Fontes said Monday night.
"We're treating this as a homicide," Fontes said.
He didn't release information on a motive but said police are seeking a white 2000 Nissan Maxima with a broken windshield, a loud exhaust and a Cocke County license plate 810-YCW that belonged to the home's residents. A witness reported seeing a white male driving the car from the area.
Grassy Fork Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, after a neighbor reported seeing part of the trailer on Henderson Road smoking. By the time firefighters arrived, said Fire Chief Walt Cross, about 70 percent of the trailer was engulfed and the roof soon collapsed.
Neighbors didn't think the residents, a couple and their 3-year-old son, were home because the car was missing, he said. The fire department worked on the scene until about 4 a.m. Sunday.
It was upon returning later Sunday morning, after daylight, that firefighters discovered the severely burned remains of an adult, Cross said. Cocke County Sheriff's Department, the Tennessee Bomb and Arson Squad and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation joined the probe, Fontes said. They located the remains of a second adult Sunday afternoon and the remains of a small child Monday afternoon.
The remains have been sent to the Regional Forensic Center in Knoxville for autopsy, Fontes said. He said the autopsy will positively identify the bodies, which he believes were the trailer's residents but declined to name yet, as well as show whether they died before the fire.
Cross said firefighters found several spots in the trailer burning hotter, which "can sometimes indicate foul play."
Fontes said police had been called to the residence before when the couple were victims of theft. He said he is not aware of any other calls to that address.
He asked anyone with information on the fire or the car to call 423-423-623-3064 and ask to speak to a detective or himself.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 31 May 2012.
Duo sought in fatal Hartford fire nabbed in North Carolina
Author: Nelson Morais
NEWPORT-Two suspects have been arrested in the apparent homicides of a Hartford couple and their two-year-old son.
Following a lengthy chase on Tuesday, May 29, that included helicopter assistance from the Knox County Sheriff's Department, Adam Edwards, who moved here from Florida, and Marsha Shelton, of Del Rio, were caught and arrested in Haywood County, N.C.
Edwards, 43, was driving the white 2000 Nissan Maxima that belonged to the family of the three victims. Shelton, who is believed to be Edwards' girlfriend, was a passenger in the vehicle.
The suspects were expected to be arraigned on initial violation of probation charges in Haywood County.
Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes said, if the couple waives extradition, they will be brought to Cocke County to face charges in the suspected triple homicide.
The sheriff said Wednesday morning that robbery was the motive for the suspected murders of Terri Henderson, 39; her live-in boyfriend Sherman Ellison, 35; and their son, Riley, whose third birthday is in August. Edwards, one of the two suspects, lived next door to the family on Henderson Road.
Duo sought in fatal Hartford fire nabbed in North Carolina
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 27 May 2012.
(Died May 27, 2012)
Riley Gene Ellison- Terri Lynn Henderson- Ronald Sherman Ellison May 27, 2012
Riley Gene Ellison, age 2, Terri Lynn Henderson, age 38, and Ronald Sherman Ellison, age 36, died at their home in Grassy Fork, Sunday, May 27, 2012 . Riley was preceded in death by his grandparents, Gene and Francis Henderson; great grandfather, Jay Ellison; Terri was preceded in death by her parents, Gene and Francis Henderson; Ronald Sherman was preceded in death by his grandfather, Jay Ellison. Riley, Terri and Sherman are survived by Terri’s son, Timmy Henderson of Hartford and her sister, Christina Cowen of Dandridge and her aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and special friends; Ronald Sherman’s, sons, Austin and Dakota Ellison; stepsons, Shawn and Andrew Moore all of Parrottsville; mother, Brenda Ellison of Newport; sister, Kim Cortez of Newport; his nephews, Zac and Zeke Cortez; grandmother, Helen Ellison of Newport; also his aunts, uncles and cousins; his special friends, Ray Valentine, Steve Starkey, Maxine Black, Grace and Walter Freeman, Amanda and Anthony Hill all of Grassy Fork. The family will receive friends from 6-8 pm Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at Manes Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held 2:00 pm Thursday, June 7, 2012 at the Henderson Cemetery with Rev. Willie Winters officiating. Family and friends may sign the guest register on line at www.manesfuneralhome.com. Manes Funeral Home in charge.
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 7 Jun 2012.
Services held for victims of triple homicide
(c)2012 NPT PHOTO BY NELSON MORAIS
Hundreds of people showed up Wednesday, June 6, in the evening, to express their condolences to the surviving family members of the Terri Henderson and Sherman Ellison family, and their son, Riley Gene, who were apparently killed in their mobile home that was burned May 26.
Author: Nelson Morais
NEWPORT-Relatives and friends of a family of three apparently killed and left in their mobile home in Grassy Fork that may have been set on fire by two suspects in custody, paid their condolences to surviving members of the family at Manes Funeral Home on Wednesday evening, June 6.
Sadness and grief filled the viewing room as, at times, people lined up in a hallway to sign a guest register and express their support to the surviving family members.
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