Woman indicted in pill death
From Staff Reports
Alcoa police detectives arrested a Loudon woman Thursday on a charge of second-degree murder stemming from a 2011 death from illegal distribution of prescription medication.
Kellie Geneva Abert, 43, Loudon, was arrested after a Blount County grand jury returned a sealed indictment against her on Monday. Abert was being held at the Blount County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond pending a 9 a.m. March 18 hearing in Blount County Circuit Court.
Alcoa Police Detectives Kris Sanders and Jason Ewing took Abert into custody Thursday night with the assistance of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
The case stems from the death of William R. Lawson, 39, of Greenback, who was found dead Aug. 4, 2011, in a room at Hampton Inn, 148 International Ave., Alcoa. Alcoa officers responded to the call of an unresponsive male in the hotel and found Lawson's body.
A preliminary investigation of the crime scene and an interview was initiated with Abert, who was Lawson’s sister, as well as a witness to the death.
At that point, Sanders said the cause of death was determined to be suspicious in nature.
Detectives spent the next year and a half investigating the case, Sanders said.
It was determined that Lawson’s death was the result of the illegal distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance. Police said the substance was a prescription medication.
