Police: 6 slain in Tenn., Ala.; suspect in custody

[samanthajane13]

By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 9 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – Five people were found slain in two homes in southern Tennessee Saturday, some of whom were related, and a sixth person at a Huntsville, Ala., business, said authorities, who have a suspect in custody.

Lincoln County, Tenn., Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said at a news conference that his department is investigating three crime scenes, though he did not elaborate. He did not release the victims' names or that of the suspect and would not confirm the causes of death. He did not release a motive.

"We have a lot of unanswered questions," he said. "There's a lot we can't talk about."

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said some of the victims found in the Lincoln County homes were related and that the killings happened Friday night or early Saturday.

Huntsville Police Sgt. Mickey Allen told TV station WAFF that his department has a person in custody who confessed to several homicides in Tennessee and the one in Huntsville. Based on the suspect's information, police found a body at Huntsville's Hall Cultured Marble and Granite late Saturday morning, said Allen, who works on the city's major crimes unit.

He said the information was explicit and led right to the business and victim.

"We have no clue as yet of what unfolded there and how it relates to here," he said.

Fayetteville is a town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border. Huntsville is the largest city in northern Alabama with more than 170,000 people and is about 20 miles south of Fayetteville.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090718/...essee_slayings

[samanthajane13]

Man on porch charged after 6 slain in Tenn., Ala.
By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 24 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – Six people believed to be from one family were slain in a two-state spree and authorities charged a man who was sitting on the porch when authorities arrived at one home in the killings.

Five people were found dead in two neighboring rural homes near Fayetteville in southern Tennessee Saturday, and a sixth body was discovered at a business about 30 miles away in Huntsville, Ala., authorities said.

Jacob Shaffer, 30, of Fayetteville was charged late Saturday with homicide. He was jailed without bond in Lincoln County, which borders Alabama.

Investigators said the victims were four adults and two juveniles, but their names and ages were not being released until they are identified and next of kin are notified.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said in an e-mail that Shaffer was charged with five counts of homicide for the Tennessee deaths and faced an additional count in Alabama.

"Most of the victims are suspected to be related. The motive of the killings is domestic," Helm said. She did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking more details.

Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said at a news conference that his department is investigating three crime scenes, though he did not elaborate. He did not release the victims' names and would not confirm the causes of death in what he called "horrendous" killings and "one of the worst crimes Lincoln County has seen."

Helm said the Tennessee victims were killed Friday night or early Saturday. Shaffer was sitting on the porch of one of the Fayetteville houses when authorities first arrived Saturday.

Huntsville police Sgt. Mickey Allen, who works for the city's major crimes unit, said that based on the suspect's information, police found a body at Hall Cultured Marble Granite on Saturday morning. Authorities have not said how the slayings in the two communities are linked.

While authorities have not released the victims' ages, Karon Weatherman, who lives about a half-mile away from the Tennessee homes, said she saw children as young as 4 and 5 running back and forth between the houses across the road from each other.

One of the Tennessee homes was once a skating rink that was converted into a duplex, said Weatherman. She did not know the family but said they moved in earlier this year.

"I wouldn't expect nothing like this to happen," she said.

Fayetteville is a town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border. Huntsville, about 30 miles south, is the largest city in northern Alabama with more than 170,000 people.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090719/...essee_slayings

[samanthajane13]

Tennessee man accused of killing wife, her kin
By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press Writer – 45 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – A southern Tennessee man faces homicide charges in the slayings of his wife, her father, brother and teenage son, along with two other people in two states, authorities said Sunday.

The bodies of the relatives, along with a teenage neighbor, were found Saturday in two rural homes near Fayetteville in southern Tennessee, said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A sixth body discovered at a business about 30 miles south in Huntsville, Ala., has not been identified, and authorities have not said how the killings are linked.

Jacob Shaffer, 30, of Fayetteville in Lincoln County, faces six counts of homicide, his motive described as domestic, according to TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm. She identified the victims as as Shaffer's wife, 38-year-old Traci Shaffer; her son, 16-year-old Devin Brooks; her brother, 34-year-old Chris Hall; her father, 57-year-old Billy Hall; and a neighbor, 16-year-old Robert Berber. Jacob Shaffer was being held in the Lincoln County jail without bond and no lawyer for him was listed at the jail.

Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said Saturday that his department was investigating three crime scenes and would not confirm the causes of death in what he called "horrendous" killings and "one of the worst crimes Lincoln County has seen." Autopsies were being performed Sunday.

Helm said the Tennessee victims were killed Friday night or early Saturday. Shaffer was sitting on the porch of one of the Fayetteville houses when authorities first arrived Saturday. Huntsville police said based on information from Shaffer, they found the sixth victim at Hall Cultured Marble Granite on Saturday morning.

At Lincoln Memorial Presbyterian Church, up the road from the crime scenes, members discussed what little they knew about the killings before a worship service started Sunday.

"It sent cold chills down my spine," Mary Jane Thompson said of the deaths about 4 miles from her home.

Thompson, who has spent her whole life in Lincoln County, said the community has changed since she was younger and crimes seem to be more common.

"Things are not the way they used to be," she said.

Killing two teenagers was especially difficult for her to understand.

"I don't see why anybody would want to kill children," Thompson said. "It's just so sad."

Karon Weatherman, who lives about a half-mile away, said she saw children as young as 4 and 5 running back and forth between the Tennessee houses across the road from each other. She did not know the family but said they moved in earlier this year. Children's toys lay in the yard of one of the homes on Sunday after the police finished investigating near the town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border.

"I wouldn't expect nothing like this to happen," she said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090719/...V0aG9yaXRpZXNt

[samanthajane13]

Friend: Slain woman, accused husband had split
By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press Writer – 33 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – A southern Tennessee woman and her husband, who is accused of killing her and five other people in two states, had been having marital troubles and were not living together, a man who says he knew the couple told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Jacob Shaffer, 30, faces six counts of homicide. His wife, 38-year-old Traci Shaffer, her son, Devin Brooks, and neighbor, Robert Berber, both 16, were found dead Saturday in her home in rural Fayetteville, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm. The bodies of Traci Shaffer's brother, Chris Hall, 34, and father Billy Hall, 57, were found in a home across the road. Jacob Shaffer is also accused in a killing at a business in Huntsville, Ala., about 30 miles south.

The Shaffers were no longer sharing a home but had not filed for separation, said 29-year-old James Wilson, who was gathering belongings from Traci's home in Lincoln County. He said he is the boyfriend of Shaffer's sister, Jennifer.

The Shaffers had a 4-year-old daughter, and Wilson said police told him the girl was home during the killings but wasn't hurt. Wilson told the AP that he met Jacob Shaffer when they were installing drywall, but they had stopped being friends about a year and a half ago.

Shaffer was still installing drywall around Huntsville, and Billy Hall had been driving him back and forth to work before the couple split, Wilson said. The sixth victim was found at Hall Cultured Marble Granite, which Hall's family owns, Wilson said. The business was closed Sunday.

"Her dad done everything he could for Jacob," Wilson said. "I have no idea why he walked across the street to her daddy and her brother. Her daddy never done anything wrong."

Helm said Shaffer's motive was domestic, but authorities have not released a chronology of the killings or many details, including how the six died.

Wilson said the couple had "gotten into it" as far as fighting, but he never would have expected such violence.

"As far as seeing him do something like this, you just can't see it," Wilson said.

Traci's slain son and a 9-year-old daughter, who wasn't home during the killings, were from a previous relationship, Wilson said.

Jacob Shaffer of Fayetteville was being held without bond at the Lincoln County Jail and no lawyer for him was listed.

Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said Saturday that his department was investigating three crime scenes and would not confirm the causes of death in what he called "horrendous" killings and "one of the worst crimes Lincoln County has seen." Autopsies were being performed Sunday and Wilson said police wouldn't tell him how the family was killed.

Helm said the family members died Friday night or early Saturday and that Jacob Shaffer was sitting on the porch of one of the houses when authorities first arrived. Huntsville police said information from him led them to the body at the granite business. They have not released the name of the sixth victim.

At Lincoln Memorial Presbyterian Church, just up the road from the crime scenes, members discussed what little they knew about the killings.

"It sent cold chills down my spine," Mary Jane Thompson said of the deaths about four miles from her home.

Killing two teenagers was especially difficult for her to understand.

"I don't see why anybody would want to kill children," Thompson said. "It's just so sad."

A neighbor said the family had moved into the homes earlier this year. Children's toys lay in the yard of one after police finished investigating near the town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border.

Wilson refused a request to talk to Traci Shaffer's sister, saying she was devasted by the loss.

"She's not handling it and I can't blame her," he said. "What can you say to someone who has lost everybody?"


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/...essee_slayings

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by samanthajane13

Friend: Slain woman, accused husband had split
By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press Writer – 33 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – A southern Tennessee woman and her husband, who is accused of killing her and five other people in two states, had been having marital troubles and were not living together, a man who says he knew the couple told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Jacob Shaffer, 30, faces six counts of homicide. His wife, 38-year-old Traci Shaffer, her son, Devin Brooks, and neighbor, Robert Berber, both 16, were found dead Saturday in her home in rural Fayetteville, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm. The bodies of Traci Shaffer's brother, Chris Hall, 34, and father Billy Hall, 57, were found in a home across the road. Jacob Shaffer is also accused in a killing at a business in Huntsville, Ala., about 30 miles south.

The Shaffers were no longer sharing a home but had not filed for separation, said 29-year-old James Wilson, who was gathering belongings from Traci's home in Lincoln County. He said he is the boyfriend of Shaffer's sister, Jennifer.

The Shaffers had a 4-year-old daughter, and Wilson said police told him the girl was home during the killings but wasn't hurt. Wilson told the AP that he met Jacob Shaffer when they were installing drywall, but they had stopped being friends about a year and a half ago.

Shaffer was still installing drywall around Huntsville, and Billy Hall had been driving him back and forth to work before the couple split, Wilson said. The sixth victim was found at Hall Cultured Marble Granite, which Hall's family owns, Wilson said. The business was closed Sunday.

"Her dad done everything he could for Jacob," Wilson said. "I have no idea why he walked across the street to her daddy and her brother. Her daddy never done anything wrong."

Helm said Shaffer's motive was domestic, but authorities have not released a chronology of the killings or many details, including how the six died.

Wilson said the couple had "gotten into it" as far as fighting, but he never would have expected such violence.

"As far as seeing him do something like this, you just can't see it," Wilson said.

Traci's slain son and a 9-year-old daughter, who wasn't home during the killings, were from a previous relationship, Wilson said.

Jacob Shaffer of Fayetteville was being held without bond at the Lincoln County Jail and no lawyer for him was listed.

Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder said Saturday that his department was investigating three crime scenes and would not confirm the causes of death in what he called "horrendous" killings and "one of the worst crimes Lincoln County has seen." Autopsies were being performed Sunday and Wilson said police wouldn't tell him how the family was killed.

Helm said the family members died Friday night or early Saturday and that Jacob Shaffer was sitting on the porch of one of the houses when authorities first arrived. Huntsville police said information from him led them to the body at the granite business. They have not released the name of the sixth victim.

At Lincoln Memorial Presbyterian Church, just up the road from the crime scenes, members discussed what little they knew about the killings.

"It sent cold chills down my spine," Mary Jane Thompson said of the deaths about four miles from her home.

Killing two teenagers was especially difficult for her to understand.

"I don't see why anybody would want to kill children," Thompson said. "It's just so sad."

A neighbor said the family had moved into the homes earlier this year. Children's toys lay in the yard of one after police finished investigating near the town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama border.

Wilson refused a request to talk to Traci Shaffer's sister, saying she was devasted by the loss.

"She's not handling it and I can't blame her," he said. "What can you say to someone who has lost everybody?"


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/...essee_slayings

this is so beyond rage/anger I cannot comprehend.........sara IMO

[samanthajane13]

5 victims of deadly rampage stabbed, 1 beaten
By TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press Writer Travis Loller, Associated Press Writer – 17 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – The man accused in a rampage that killed six people first beat an acquaintance to death at an Alabama business and then moved north into Tennessee, where he repeatedly stabbed his estranged wife, her family and a neighbor, authorities said Monday.

Jacob Shaffer, 30, has been charged in the deaths. His wife, Traci, and her son and his friend, both 16 were found in her house in Fayetteville. The bodies of Traci Shaffer's brother and father were found in a home nearby.

Dr. Amy McMaster of the Tennessee medical examiner's office said Monday that all the victims found in Fayetteville had multiple stab wounds. McMaster did not know what kind of weapon was used.

Authorities have said the motive was "domestic," though it was unclear why Sidney Wade Dempsey, 50, was attacked, said Sgt. Mark Roberts of the Huntsville, Ala., police department. Dempsey died of blunt-force trauma at Hall Cultured Marble Granite, where he worked and was allowed to live, Roberts said.

"I think the guy (Dempsey) was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think the guy (Shaffer) just decided to start there," Roberts said.

Roberts said Shaffer confessed to killing all six victims. A friend of the victims said the family of Traci Shaffer, 38, owned the Alabama granite business.

Jacob Shaffer was arraigned on homicide charges Monday in Fayetteville, Tenn. He faces five counts there and another in Alabama.

Shaffer appeared by video link between the Lincoln County Jail and a courtroom, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs. He answered the judge's questions by saying only "yes" and shaking his head in response.

General Sessions Judge Andy Myrick appointed two assistant public defenders to represent Shaffer.

Family friend James Wilson said he had seen fights between Jacob and Traci Shaffer. He said police told him Shaffer spared the couple's 4-year-old daughter, who was home at the time, but investigators haven't yet confirmed that.

"As far as seeing him do something like this, you just can't see it," Wilson told The Associated Press. He said he is dating Traci Shaffer's sister, Jennifer.

"She's not handling it and I can't blame her," he said. "What can you say to someone who has lost everybody?"

Traci Shaffer was found dead Saturday in her home along with her son, Devin Brooks, and neighbor Robert Berber, both 16, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm. The bodies of Traci Shaffer's brother, Chris Hall, 34, and father Billy Hall, 57, were found in a home across the road.

The Shaffers were no longer living together but had not filed for separation, said Wilson, who was gathering belongings from Traci's house in Lincoln County. Wilson said he met Jacob Shaffer when they were installing drywall, but they had stopped being friends about a year and a half ago.

Shaffer was still installing drywall around Huntsville, and Billy Hall had been driving him back and forth to work before the couple split, Wilson said.

"Her dad done everything he could for Jacob," Wilson said. "I have no idea why he walked across the street to her daddy and her brother. Her daddy never done anything wrong."

Traci Shaffer's slain son and a 9-year-old daughter who wasn't home at the time were from a previous relationship, Wilson said.

Helm said that the family died Friday night or early Saturday, and that Jacob Shaffer was sitting on the porch of one of the houses when authorities first arrived. Huntsville police said information from him led them to the body at the granite business.

Fayetteville is a town of 7,000 people about 90 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee-Alabama line.

____

Associated Press writers Kristin M. Hall in Nashville and Jay Reeves in Birmingham contributed to this story.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/...essee_slayings

[samanthajane13]

5 victims of deadly rampage stabbed, 1 beaten
By TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press Writer Travis Loller, Associated Press Writer – 15 mins ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – A man accused in a bloody weekend rampage that killed six in two states was a quiet, burly drywaller who authorities say started the attacks by beating an acquaintance to death in Alabama.

He then headed north to two homes in the small rural town of Fayetteville in Tennessee, where the violence escalated as he repeatedly stabbed his estranged wife, her family and a teenage neighbor, police said Monday.

Investigators have said Jacob Shaffer's motive for killing Traci Shaffer, her father, brother and son was "domestic." Caught up in the attacks, however, were an acquaintance who was the first to die 30 miles away in Huntsville, and the 16-year-old neighbor. Family friend James Wilson said investigators think the only person spared in the attacks was the Shaffers' 4-year-old daughter.

Although Shaffer and his wife were known to fight, Wilson said he didn't expect anything to turn deadly. Police still haven't said which of the homes was attacked first, or how the 6-foot, 215-pound man managed to kill so many people. Huntsville police said he has confessed to all the killings.

"There is no more family," Wilson said.

Shaffer, 30, has been charged with five counts of homicide in Tennessee and another in Alabama. In one house in Fayetteville Saturday, authorities found Traci Shaffer, 38; her son from a previous marriage, Devin Brooks, 16; and neighbor Robert Berber. Traci Shaffer's brother, Chris Hall, 34, and father, Billy Hall, 57, were killed in a home across the road.

Dr. Amy McMaster of the Tennessee medical examiner's office said Monday that she didn't know what weapon was used to stab the victims. She would not say whether there had been a struggle. Shaffer was sitting on the porch of one of the homes when authorities arrived Saturday.

The family is seeking donations to pay for the burials — the only adult survivor is Traci Shaffer's sister, Jennifer Hall, Wilson said. Traci Shaffer also has a 9-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Jennifer Hall lived with her father and brother but was spending the night with Wilson, her longtime boyfriend.

They found out the family was dead when they stopped by Saturday to invite Billy Hall on a camping trip.

The first victim was Sidney Wade Dempsey, 50, who was killed late Friday or early Saturday at a business Wilson said is owned by the Hall family. Huntsville police Sgt. Mark Roberts said Dempsey worked and lived at Hall Cultured Marble Granite and knew Jacob Shaffer.

"I think the guy (Dempsey) was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Roberts said. "I think the guy (Shaffer) just decided to start there."

The next attacks came in Fayetteville, a town of about 7,000 people near the Alabama line.

The two teenagers were classmates at Lincoln County High School, counselor Shelia Daniel said.

She said Berber and his family moved from McAllen, Texas, about a year ago. He was interested in a collision repair course that is part of the school's career technical program.

"He was a strong B student," she said. "He never caused any problems for anyone."

Brooks was smart, she said.

"I don't think his grades indicated how bright he was. He liked writing. He was in an honors English class," Daniel said.

Pastor Robert Doud said he got to know Brooks and Berber through The Basement, a Christian outreach center that ministers to young people with rock shows and alternative worship services. Brooks worked in the snack bar there.

"Devin and Robert were sweet, awesome kids. It was an honor just to get to know them," Doud said.

Black ribbons were on the center's door knobs Monday, and Doud said kids held an impromptu memorial service there Sunday, sharing memories and talking through their grief.

Cody Tate, 17, said he was best friends with Brooks and said Traci Shaffer was "like my second mom."

The muscular Jacob Shaffer was always at the house but rarely spoke, said Tate, who didn't realize the couple wasn't living together.

Shaffer was working as a drywall installer around Huntsville, and Billy Hall had been driving him back and forth to work before the couple split, Wilson said.

"Her dad done everything he could for Jacob," Wilson said. "I have no idea why he walked across the street to her daddy and her brother. Her daddy never done anything wrong."

____

Associated Press writers Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Jay Reeves in Birmingham and Bill Poovey in Chattanooga contributed to this story.


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