maryville

[Guest looneeetunes]

i meant to post this a few days ago. the victims daughter goes to my church they came and told her during the a.m service. glad they caught him, very sad tho.

Man indicted on murder charge

By Jessica Stith

of The Daily Times Staff

A 21-year-old Maryville man was indicted Monday on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Kenneth Ray Hurst Sr. during the commission of a burglary, robbery and theft at his house on Jan. 24.

Blount County Sheriff James Berrong said several days of hard work and determination by his detectives and a combined effort from all divisions of the sheriff’s office and the Blount County District Attorney’s Office led to the charges.

Gary Lee Collins, 21, Ridge Road, Maryville, was being held at the Blount County Jail on bonds totaling $1.05 million pending a Friday hearing in Blount County Circuit Court.

A Blount County grand jury indicted Collins Monday on a charge of first-degree murder during the commission of a burglary, robbery and theft. He was also indicted on one count of especially aggravated burglary, one count of especially aggravated robbery and theft over $1,000.

Hurst, 63, 1916 Callahan Road, Louisville, was found dead in his residence on Jan. 27 when a family member went to check on him.

Marian O’Briant, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said on Jan. 27 that Hurst was found lying on the floor beside his bed, and Berrong said an autopsy revealed that Hurst died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.

Berrong said Monday that through an investigation, it was discovered that Collins went to Hurst’s residence on Jan. 24 and forced entry was made to the house. He said there was no indication that anyone else entered the house with Collins, but detectives are looking into all possibilities and the investigation is continuing.

Berrong said it was not easy for investigators to narrow down a suspect in the case and it was, and still is, a complex investigation. He said investigators formally interviewed at least 45 or 50 people and also informally interviewed several more people during the course of the investigation.

“Our investigators worked tirelessly for hours,†Berrong said.

He said it was not until day four of the investigation that detectives were able to develop a suspect in the case. Deputies brought Collins in on outstanding warrants that were previously filed on him, and began investigating him further.

“With the effort of the investigators, all divisions of the sheriff’s office and the attorney general’s office we were able to charge someone,†Berrong said.

Berrong said they were not able to release all the details of the robbery and Hurst’s death due to the ongoing investigation.

Originally published: February 05. 2008 3:01AM

Last modified: February 05. 2008 12:41AM

http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080205/NEWS/894912141

[Guest canynracer]

this is very sad, thoughts and prayers to his survivors.

[Guest nj.piney]

i read it also but did not know anyone involved, my condolences also

the police in maryville are right on top of these sort of investigations.

[DWARREN123]

The bad guys seem to be getting more violent these days. Glad they got the perp and feel very sad for the family.

[Fivestring63]

We live in the Maryville area and this is one of the reasons

my wife bought herself a handgun just today. I even got her

wanting to take a carry course with me.

[Guest looneeetunes]

yeah my wife just got her permit in the mail saturday, little over a year and a half after i got mine, but she came around just the same