I did not do that," Barbara Potter told ABC News' "20/20. Jenelle Potter's former friends Billie Jean Hayworth, Billy Payne were murdered. But from Barbaras perspective, shed already had that trial one time. While being questioned by detectives, Marvin said, Ever since all this crap started, Ive had my life threatened. In a tiny town in Tennessee, a young couple are brutally shot, execution style in their home. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Payne, 36, and Hayworth, 23, were killed about three years ago in their Mountain City home by Marvin Potter and Jamie Curd. The turmoil eventually led to Buddy traveling to Payne and Hayworths mobile home in Mountain City where he shot and killed both execution-style, slit Paynes throat, and left the couples 8-month-old son alive in his mothers lifeless arms. There was controversy around how the Johnson County Sheriffs Office handled the murder case during the original investigation. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Mountain City is 1 in 76. The murders happened in Mountain City, but the case is being tried in Jonesborough because of the pre-trial publicity that surrounded the so-called Facebook murders.. The 60-year-old father is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for killing Billy Payne Jr. and his girlfriend, Billie Jean Hayworth. But when an online feud erupted, two of her former friends were found murdered in their home while their baby survived. All the trademarks displayed on this page are the property of Location, Inc. [The text messages were] very telling about Jenelle being involved in the preparation for the killing, prosecutor Dennis Brooks told 20/20.. A Johnson County man pleaded guilty to facilitation of first-degree murder in a brutal 2012 double murder Tuesday, and the mother and daughter convicted of the crimes will serve their two life. The CIA agent warned the parents that surveillance of Payne and Hayworth revealed that the two of them were planning on harming Jenelle, that it was imminent, and that something needed to be done. Sinkhole opens up in Mall at Johnson City parking, Greeneville man describes moment US shot down balloon, From the Archives: Carter County, Roan Mountain floods, Join News Channel 11s 70th celebration in Elizabethton, Continents largest salamanders native to region, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. feet 1 baths 3 beds #3 Highway 133 Shady Valley, TN 37688 1,120 sq. Low 33F. A Johnson County man pleaded guilty to facilitation of first-degree murder in a brutal 2012 double murder Tuesday, and the mother and daughter convicted of the crimes will serve their two life sentences concurrently, a judge ruled, giving the younger woman at least some chance of being paroled. Please subscribe to keep reading. In one incident, police photographed a rock, pictured above, that was found in the Potters front yard with the names Billy Payne and Billie Jean written on it. Mountain City TN Murder/Homicide Rate 2005-2018 | MacroTrends Because we knew that they had trouble with [Hayworth and Payne], Woodard told 20/20.. Now six years after the Potter women were convicted and five years after their original petition for a new trial, Marvin is speaking out. The chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Mountain City; such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder; is 1 in 306. She said she was the victim of anonymous cyberbullying, some of which she believes came from Hayworth. In May 2015, three and a half years after the shootings, Jenelle and Barbara finally went on trial. Agent Lott said, "Barbara would take this information and show it to Buddy: 'Buddy, look, look what they're trying to do to Jenelle.' We felt sorry for Jenelle because she was sheltered and sick and stuff, Greenwell told 20/20.. The NeighborhoodScout search engine is covered under US Patents No. Listen to "39: Catfishing in Mountain City, TN: The Facebook Murders" on Spreaker. One of three Facebook murder convictions overturned, mother granted new According to a summary from the publisher, when Payne and Hayworth began their romance, they unknowingly set in motion a diabolical plot that would end with them murdered in their own home, Hayworth holding their infant, who was not harmed. A withh. This conflict, Petitioner asserts, denied her a fair trial and also constituted the ineffective assistance of counsel; B. Mr. Fallin rendered ineffective assistance of counsel at trial based on counsels other actions at trial and on appeal; C. The State withheld exculpatory evidence, in violation of its obligations under Brady v. Maryland, thus denying Petitioner due process and a fair trial.. The matriarch of a family trio convicted on two counts of first- degree murder in the so-called Facebook murders was granted a new trial after a judge ruled her trial attorney who also represented her husband at a previous trial had a conflict of interest by representing them both. Everybody says she fell in love with Bill, but I still dont see that, said Greenwell. Albright was initially arrested on Friday, August 14, 2020, and charged with first . I've done everything. I was horrible. The jury reached a verdict of guilty on Friday, October 11, 2013 in the trial of Mavin Enoch Buddy Potter, Jr. who was charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Mountain City couple Bill Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth. When they impounded Marvins truck, they found bags of shredded documents, pictured above. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Jenelle and Her Family Adjust to Life in Mountain City. Potter lived most of her adult life on social media. It took a lot of work to get here and I truly believe that she could have had a better outcome at trial. . I walked away from that (post-conviction) hearing myself having concerns about that representation.. "I think that we did it to each other. Curd's initial bond was raised to $1.5 million while Potter remains jailed on his initial $200,000 bond. Raw crime incidents are sourced from all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies municipal, county, transit, park, port, university, tribal and more, assigned to localities, then built into NeighborhoodScouts proprietary predictive models to provide a comprehensive crime risk profile for every neighborhood and address-vicinity in the U.S. More about NeighborhoodScouts crime data methodology, By sending this Report you agree to NeighborhoodScout's, My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a In a mystery that involved a supposed CIA agent, cyber bullying and a small Tennessee town, read below to see what led to the coldblooded murders. 7,043,501 and 7,680,859. While Marvin was being questioned, police executed a search warrant on the Potter house. January 24, 2013 / 2:29 PM He was tried in 2013, while his wife and daughter were tried together in 2015. Left to right: Jamie Curd, and his attorney Casey Sears sit with Barbara Potter (foreground), Jenelle Potter and her attorney Cameron Hyder during the sentencing hearing Tuesday as Barbara Potter's attorney, Randy Fallin addresses the court.Becky Campbell. 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. This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations. For more information about the book, visit www.diversionbooks.com. 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. The Potter spouses ultimately did not have the same defense; Mr. Potters defense at his trial was that he did not commit the crime, but someone else did. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. 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.. And they interviewed him for hours, Barbara told 20/20. When his oxygen gets low, he says things that dont make sense or are incorrect., Jenelle and Her Family Are Investigated for the Murders. The evidence was presented to the Johnson County Grand Jury and Mr. Jimmy Gale Morefield was charged with Second Degree Murder, the release reads. Mountain City, TN - AreaVibes Create a password that only you will remember. Because of what they were saying about my daughter.. Maybe somewhere along the way, hes had a change of heart, but, in my mind, if he wanted to help those women at their trial, hed have done it. He told Barbara, I did it. That's as close to a confession as we got from him, said Lott. Street was pronounced dead at the scene, police report. Marvin Potter is accused in the shooting deaths of a couple who removed his adult daughter as a friend on the social network. Emailus. feet - baths - beds #5 Nc 194 S Todd, NC 28684 - sq. I only have that book because of someone elses tragedy, Brooks said. 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. Case suggested by Linda MorganSuggested Reading: Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee byJames Brooks, Written, hosted, produced by Erica KelleyResearched by Erica KelleyOriginal Graphic Art by Coley HornerOriginal Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio, https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/pottermarvinopn_3.pdf, https://www.amazon.com/Too-Pretty-Live-Catfishing-Tennessee-ebook/dp/B01994PAE8, https://abcnews.go.com/US/social-media-feud-led-murder-young-tennessee-couple/story?id=34346840, https://www.thetomahawk.com/local-news/prison-guard-fired-writing-letter-judge-support-potter-women/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_City,_Tennessee, http://www.city-data.com/city/Mountain-City-Tennessee.html, https://www.wjhl.com/local/tenn-supreme-court-censures-assistant-carter-co-district-attorney-over-facebook-murders-book/1308165452, https://media.wjhl.com/nxs-wjhltv-media-us-east-1/document_dev/2018/07/17/brooks-44880-carter-county-lawyer-censured_1531864697067_48862486_ver1.0.pdf, https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/12/Court-of-Criminal-Appeals-grants-stay-of-appeal-for-Jenelle-Potter, Catfishing in Mountain City, TN: The Facebook Murders.