Mountain City, TN: United States: Unemployment Rate: 5.3%: 5.5%: 6.0%: Recent Job Growth: 1.9%: 0.1 . I dont want anybody murdered. Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Please enter valid email address to continue. Janelle kind of spurred it. Brooks believes Jenelle was pretending to be Chris. Albright was initially arrested on Friday, August 14, 2020, and charged with first . Garland also had some harsh words for Barbara Potter, answering a question posed in one of Barbaras emails. Jenelle Potters convictions were upheld in a separate opinion issued by Acree. When I read this, I was devastated, Lindsay Thomas, a friend of Hayworth and Payne, told 20/20., [Jenelle] was always saying that somebody was mad at her. Mountain City crime rates are 58% lower than the national average Violent crimes in Mountain City are 47% lower than the national average In Mountain City you have a 1 in 102 chance of becoming a victim of crime Mountain City is safer than 62% of the cities in the United States Year over year crime in Mountain City has decreased by 32% Agent Lott then arranged for Marvin to call his wife Barbara. I just disliked them. My dad even tried to meet him places, try to talk to him.. No signup or install needed. [The text messages were] very telling about Jenelle being involved in the preparation for the killing, prosecutor Dennis Brooks told 20/20.. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and New York Law School and previously worked in financial securities compliance and Civil Rights employment law. His letter accused Reece of damaging the prosecutions case with his public comments. With no evidence or DNA left at the crime scene, police rely on the rumor mill and their instincts to try and identify suspects. Potter is serving two concurrent life sentences for the murders of the couple who were found in their Mountain City, Tennessee, home with single gunshot wounds to their faces. The cover of a book by Dennis Brooks entitle "Too Pretty to Live". Press Senior Reporter A withh. An agent meticulously reconstructed the shredded papers found in Marvin Potter's truck, pictured here, which appeared to be thousands of emails sent to the Potter family. Jamie Lynn Curd, 38, of 2358 Pleasant Valley Road, Mountain City, Tn., and Marvin "Buddy" Potter, Jr., 60, of 727 Hospital Road, Mountain City, Tn., were both charged overnight with two counts . Now, two of the three parties serving two consecutive life sentences for the 2012 murders of Bill Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth are asking for a new ruling. First published on January 24, 2013 / 2:29 PM. In the upcoming months, officials will decide whether the Potter women will receive a new trial, get a chance at an appeal, or be left to serve their sentences as planned. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Reflects 2021 calendar year; released from FBI in Oct. 2022 (latest available). The fact that Mr. Fallin failed to engage his clients in the required discussions regarding conflict of interest and waiver of the potential conflict does not, standing alone, entitle Petitioner to relief. Gen. Warner Ross, Tennessee's Adjutant General, confirmed the identities of two Tennessee Army National Guard pilots killed Wednesday af. ", Jenelle Potter said of communicating with the supposed CIA agent Chris through email, "I thought he was someone that I was friends with in school. According to a release from the Mountain City Police Department, officers were called to the 300 block of Industrial Drive on November 14, 2020. The evidence in this case was such that Barbaras best defense would have been to argue that she did not commit the crime, and if her husband did commit the crime, she was unaware of her husbands intentions, and therefore she did not assist or promote the offenses. Detectives had Curd call Marvin to get a confession on tape. It turned out there really was a person named Chris Chris Tjaden, a police officer in Delaware who attended high school with Jenelle Potter who prosecutors said Jenelle based her fictitious CIA friend on. The photos, apparently taken from Facebook, had been emailed between Jenelle Potter and her mother with titles like panface, and whores. Barbara Potter received a three-year prison sentence for the tampering conviction. Curd agreed to a plea deal of 25 years in prison. The tragic slaying of Billy Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth, which involved Facebook, catfishing and jealousy, reached a national audience, and has now evolved into a true crime book written by the lead prosecutor in the infamous case. After a six-day trial, the two were convicted of planning the Jan. 31, 2012, shooting deaths of Bill Payne, 36, and Billie Jean Hayworth, 23, inside that couples Johnson County home. Choose wisely! Select your ideal criteria and let Scout do the rest. The shocking murder left 36-year-old Billy Clay Payne and 23-year-old Billie Jean Hayworth dead. A week after the crime, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Marvin "Buddy" Potter (of no relation to the mayor) and his daughter's then-boyfriend, Jamie Lynn Curd. They took no medication. Washington County District Attorney's Office. Jenelle Potter had a love interest in Payne and apparently wasnt happy when he began dating Hayworth. And I unfriended her., Jenelles Former Friends Are Found Murdered. "I didn't murder anyone," Jenelle Potter told ABC News' "20/20. 8,376,755. They unfriended me," Jenelle said. I unfriended them. And on the Potters computer, police analysis found that hundreds of emails sent from the CIA agent Chris all came from the same IP address as the home where the Potters lived. It appears to this Court that Jessica Fallin exploited the lack of a written fee agreement between the Potters and Mr. Fallin, counsels lack of direct supervision over his daughters actions, and the Potters preoccupation with their legal issues to sell Potter family property (at least some of which was done in Mr. Fallins office) and otherwise appropriate Potter family finances to the tune of approximately $300,000 during the life of Mr. Fallins representation of the family. Brooks claims Marvins testimony is full of red flags that contradict the evidence. Jenelle Potter lived with her parents Barbara Potter and Marvin Potter, pictured together here. When she invented Chris, she could assume a different identity and be as hateful as she wanted to be.". Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. — -- A Tennessee woman in prison for the murders of a young couple with whom she had been feuding online said she didn't want them to die. He now says what triggered his actions was evidence presented by Curd that his daughter was being bullied. Hayworth died while holding her 7-month-old baby boy. "I went through a lot with them, but I never wished them dead. For Jenelle Potter, she will be 86 years old when shes eligible for release. In this case, it is clear to this Court that Mr. Fallin operated under a conflict of interest based on his concurrent representation of both Petitioner and her husband. You have permission to edit this article. To have that opportunity was important to her. [Jenelle said] she wished that Bill and Billie Jean and that damn baby would die. During the interview, Jenelle appeared to be hiding her romantic relationship with Curd from her parents. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, 'PURPOSE IN THE PAIN' Faith, family fuels Eastside girls basketball coach Funk, VHSL HOOPS: George Wythe's Ty Campbell making his own legacy, LOCALS IN THE PROS: Mac McClung back at the G League grind, Richlands altercation under investigation, VHSL CLASS 1 BOYS: George Wythe hits 16 3s in trouncing of Twin Springs, VHSL HOOPS: Ryan Horne having senior year to remember for Twin Springs, KFC is bringing back a fan favorite after a nearly 10-year hiatus, REGION 1D: Fourth time the charm for J.I. I think that we did it to each other. He was watching these people that he said were harassing her on the computer and calling her. bcampbell@johnsoncitypress.com, One of three Facebook murder convictions overturned, mother granted new trial. I just needed to lay it out. I already knew the story, he said. Because you are guilty? Rice asked. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Property Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. I thought lets see where this goes. I rekindled my love of writing.. The two men walked across a field in the dark, then Buddy Potter handed Curd a gun just before they went into the Payne home, but Curd said it was Buddy Potter who walked down the hallway and shot Payne, then Hayworth. I was horrible. Discover your neighborhood's best match, anywhere. Fallins argument at that trial was that Marvin Potter, convicted in 2013, had nothing to do with the murders. Crime risk data are updated annually. You have permission to edit this article. Barbara Potter released a statement after her sentencing saying she hopes justice will one day prevail and her innocence be proven. He was tried in 2013, while his wife and daughter were tried together in 2015. If you can show the attorney had a conflict of interest, then prejudice is presumed. The crime rate in Mountain City is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 13 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. Regardless of how Mountain City does relative to all communities in America of all sizes, when NeighborhoodScout compared it to communities of similar population size, its crime rate per thousand residents stands out as higher than most. Potter reportedly agreed. In a tiny town in Tennessee, a young couple are brutally shot, execution style in their home. When Brooks was through, Criminal Court Judge Lisa Rice reportedly asked Barbara if she agreed that what the prosecutor described would be the evidence presented against her in court if she were to be tried again. From time to time, Curd would visit the Potter house to fix the family computer. Barbara could have argued that if her actions could have been construed as encouraging her husband to act, it resulted from her being duped or catfished.. Jenelle Potter's defense attorney Cameron Hyder said, "Jenelle Potter operates on the level of an 8- or 9-year-old.. Marvin Potter, Barbara Potter and Jenelle Potter are all planning to appeal their convictions. An agent meticulously reconstructed more than 100 pages of what appeared to be thousands of emails sent to the Potter family. The murders shocked the public conscious, leading cases to be moved out of the county because of pre-trial publicity, and were also the subject of a book penned Deputy District Attorney Dennis Brooks titled, Too Pretty to Live, the Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee.. Barbara Potter, her husband Marvin Buddy Potter, and their daughter Jenelle Potter had all previously been convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder by Washington County juries. In a tiny town in Tennessee, a young couple are brutally shot, execution style in their home. 18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. A veteran of more than 100 jury trials, including 18 jury verdicts of first-degree murder, Brooks wrote when he was younger. The 2019 crime rate in Mountain City, TN is 69 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 3.9 times lower than the U.S. average. "We have been using NeighborhoodScout data from Location Inc. for over 5 years. The murder occurred after months of allegations from Potters daughter, Jenelle Potter, and his wife, Barbara Potter, and a Facebook defriending. I never wanted them dead," Jenelle Potter, 34, told ABC News' "20/20" in an exclusive interview about the murders. Potter was once friendly with Payne in person, hanging out at barbecues and even going rappelling together. The 262-page book was written after the final verdicts were read in the case in Johnson County, Tennessee. She was thinking of that and of wanting to accept her fault in what actually occurred., [image via Johnson County Sheriffs Office], Have a tip we should know? Only a few . Listen to 39: Catfishing in Mountain City, TN: The Facebook Murders, an episode of Southern Fried True Crime, easily on Podbay - the best podcast player on the web. Schults reportedly told JCP that Barbara requested him to reach a deal with prosecutorsagainst his advicebecause she did not want to go through another trial. Jenelle and Her Family Adjust to Life in Mountain City. (CBS/AP) MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. - An unfriendly Facebook relationship turned downright deadly in northeast Tennessee, authorities say. He testified at Barbara and Jenelles trial that Buddy Potter asked him for a favor, then cashed in on it the morning of the murders. He also pointed out that based on time served, she had already completed the 30-percent of her sentence required to be eligible for parole. Assistant District Attorney Dennis Brooks will officially release Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee on Tuesday by Diversion Publishing. I didn't truly believe that Buddy Potter was capable of doing this, Lott said. The couple was killed in their home on January 31, 2012. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Based on FBI crime data, Mountain City is not one of the safest communities in America. Street was pronounced dead at the scene, police report. Later that week, authorities brought Curd in and asked him to take a polygraph test, which indicated he lied about knowing the identity of Payne and Hayworths killer. By being able to show conflict of interest, we were able to show ineffective assistance of counsel.. Mountain City crime rates are 69% lower than the Tennessee average. Barbara Potters post-conviction attorney, Scott Shults, successfully argued that his clients trial attorney, Randy Fallin, was deficient in representing her because he also had represented Marvin Potter. The 38-year-old Curd reportedly had a romantic interest in Janelle Potter. The couple defriended Jenelle Potter, prosecutors said, which may have been the ultimate action that led to the murder. Jenelle Potter said she had trouble making friends when she lived in Mountain City, Tenn. They kept referring to a guy Chris thats supposedly a CIA operative or something, special agent Lott said. [They] threatened to get [me] raped, Jenelle said. You can cancel at any time. My client is not guilty for having an overprotective father, Jenelles attorney Cameron Hyder told 20/20. She is not capable of directing anyone to commit murder.