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Article published Dec 8, 2008 Daily Times carrier finds body Authorities: Blount man's death a homicide
By Jessica Stith of The Daily Times Staff
A carrier for The Daily Times discovered the body of a dead man on the side of Old Highway 72 Sunday morning as he was delivering newspapers along his route.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Bryan Graves identified the man as Timothy Willis Hughes of Blount County. He said Hughes, 45, is "originally from Blount County, but we don't have a fixed address on him yet because he was prone to move around."
Graves said they are not currently releasing the cause of death.
"It's definitely a homicide," Graves said.
John Herold, who has been delivering papers for the Times for more than three years, said he found the man lying in the gravel "between the road and the lake" off Old Highway 72 at about 7:55 a.m. He said he had been delivering newspapers in the area of Diamond Branch Road, which runs between State Highway 72 and Old Highway 72.
Graves said the body was on a "pull-off" near a dead-end about 300 yards away from Diamond Branch Road.Herold said the man appeared to have been "battered" on the side of his head.
The newspaper carrier said "the man was dead" when he found him. Herold said he tried to call 9-1-1 but could not get a signal on his cell phone. He said he went to a nearby residence and asked the resident to call 9-1-1. He then went back and waited with the body until authorities from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office arrived.
Graves said deputies were dispatched to the scene at 8:01 a.m. Herold said that upon their arrival, they asked him to stay until investigators arrived to take a statement from him.
Graves said there were several residences in the area, so the incident either occurred or the body was dropped at the location sometime during the night. He said it was unclear where the homicide occurred, and detectives are trying to track down more information. The Blount County Sheriff's Office is assisting with the investigation.
Hughes' body was taken by Rural/Metro Ambulance Service to University of Tennessee Medical Center where Graves said an autopsy will be performed. He said more information may be available pending the preliminary autopsy results.