Tennessee Man Charged with Murder of Navy Veteran 39 Years After Killing

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A Tennessee man has been charged with the 1985 murder of Navy veteran Billy Wayne Hearon, nearly 39 years after the crime occurred.

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The charges were announced on Monday, Nov. 4, against Roger Dale Oody, who is currently serving a life sentence for a separate 1987 murder.

Hearon, 28, was found dead on January 4, 1985, at the Shady Acres Trailer Park in Maryville, Tennessee. He had been brutally stabbed approximately 70 times and suffered blunt force trauma to his head.

At the time of his death, Hearon had recently been discharged from the U.S. Navy due to a career-ending injury. He was one of 15 children in his family, and his murder left his siblings searching for answers.

At the time of Hearon’s death, Oody, now 62, was an acquaintance of the victim. However, it wasn’t until decades later that new evidence emerged, leading authorities to charge him.

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According to Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp, Oody was a “person of interest” during the original investigation, but there was not enough evidence to charge him.

Tennessee Man Charged with Murder of Navy Veteran 39 Years After Killing

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The breakthrough came in 2023, when a local news story about the unsolved case led to the development of new evidence.

Authorities used advanced investigative techniques and technologies, which helped uncover crucial information that had previously been unavailable.

There is no statute of limitations for first-degree murder in Tennessee, allowing the case to be reopened even after all these years.

Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond confirmed that Oody’s name resurfaced during the investigation, and in November 2024, a Blount County Grand Jury indicted him for the first-degree murder of Hearon.

Oody was booked into the Blount County Justice Center the following day and is set to appear in court on Nov. 8.

Tennessee Man Charged with Murder of Navy Veteran 39 Years After Killing

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Interestingly, Oody’s connection to the 1985 murder was further linked to a 1987 homicide.

He is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Roy Stevens, a crime he committed just two years after Hearon’s death.

Desmond suggested there may be a “nexus” between the two cases, though further details are yet to be revealed.

The Hearon family, who had waited nearly four decades for justice, was relieved to hear the news. “We are very pleased to bring some resolve and closure,” Chief Crisp said, expressing the emotional toll the case had taken on Hearon’s siblings.

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