| Sources |
- [S115] Mynatt Funeral Home, (http://ynattfh.net), 16 Jan 2010.
Jason Shawn Munsey, age 38, of Knoxville, passed away, January 16, 2010. He was a member of first Baptist Church Fountain City. Preceded in death by grandmother, Irene Munsey and aunt, Doris Scruggs. Survivors, daughters, Madison, Brittany, mother, Kathy Munsey, father, Ronnie Munsey and wife Susie, sisters, Ashley Munsey, Kimberly Poore, brothers, Dustin Munsey, Brandon Munsey, grandfather, Dewey Munsey, Jr. and wife Bonnie, grandmother, Faye Jones, several aunts, uncles, nieces and cousins. Family and friends will meet, 10:45 a.m., Thursday, Sherwood Memorial Gardens for a graveside service at 11:00 a.m., Rev. Phillip Murphy officiating. The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, Mynatt Funeral Home Halls Chapel.
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 21 Mar 2020.
Ronnie Munsey reviews records from the cell phone of his son, Jason Shawn Munsey, who was found dead Jan. 16 with two gunshot wounds to his head. His parents want answers in his death, which has been ruled a homicide.
"I'm angry because I've lost my son ... I want to know what happened."
Ronnie Munsey
Ronnie Munsey's questions started the night his son was found dead.
Two months later, he's still asking questions.
"I'm angry because I've lost my son," the father said. "I want to know what happened. I understand that it's not like TV - if there's no motive and no witnesses, it's going to be hard to solve."
Knoxville police say they're trying to find the answers. Jason Shawn Munsey's death in January looked like a suicide, but an autopsy led investigators to treat the case as a killing.
Munsey's mother, Kathy, found his body Jan. 16 just before 6 p.m. at the home he rented on Fawnwood Drive in Northwest Knoxville. He sat slumped on the couch with the front door locked, the television blaring and a pot of beans burning on the stove. He'd been shot in the head.
Munsey's cell phone records, obtained by his father, show he'd made calls the day before from 6 a.m. until about 7:50 p.m., when the outgoing calls suddenly stopped.
Police say the scene bore all the signs of a suicide. Munsey, 38, had broken up with his girlfriend. He'd told friends he felt depressed and thought of killing himself.
"There was no forced entry and absolutely no struggle," Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. "The last contact anyone had with him was when he left a voice-mail message for his ex-girlfriend that he was going to shoot himself in the head. The crime scene itself showed a blood spray that was consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The wound on the side of his head was a contact wound. There was no indication whatsoever at the time that it was anything other than a suicide."
An autopsy found a second gunshot wound - close enough to the first that police said it wouldn't have been immediately visible.
Munsey's mother said she knew it all along.
"I kept saying he wouldn't kill himself," she said. "They never found the gun. I knew he didn't do it. He loved his kids too much. He had two beautiful girls. I stood outside the house that night and told them at the top of my lungs it wasn't suicide."
Munsey's father learned about the second gunshot when he picked up his son's death certificate while making funeral arrangements. He said he's still angry over that.
"The first place I heard the word 'homicide' was at the funeral home," the father said. "The police told me they do a good job solving cases but a poor job of communicating. I asked them, 'Why can't you do both?' "
Police say they weren't ready to reveal those details because they hadn't finished ruling out family members as suspects. They say they're still not finished.
"Not one person - family or nonfamily - has been eliminated as a suspect at this time," DeBusk said. "There has not been a lot of cooperation on behalf of anyone at this point."
Police say they treat all deaths the same - as homicides until an investigation shows otherwise. Munsey's death marked the city's first reported homicide of 2010.
Records show he'd been in and out of jail on drug and theft charges, including time in prison for a theft conviction.
"He was a pill-trafficker - from what we believe, a fairly substantial one," DeBusk said. "There has been very little to no cooperation among his associates."
Investigators said they're still waiting for test results on evidence from the scene. The family said they're waiting, too.
Police asked that anyone with information in the case call 865-215-7212.
Matt Lakin may be reached at 865-342-6306.
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