MOUNTAIN CITY — The two men charged in the murders of Billy Clay Payne Jr., 36, and his girlfriend Billie Jean Hayworth, 23, made their first appearance in Criminal Court on Tuesday morning.
Marvin E. “Buddy” Potter and Jamie Lynn Curd each made brief appearances before Senior Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood. The judge placed each defendant on the same schedule. They have until Nov. 9 to file pretrial motions. There is a Feb. 1 deadline on any negotiated settlement and trial is set for April 15. Both men are charged with two counts of first degree murder.
Potter was brought into the courtroom first on Tuesday. He has hired Randolph Fallin as his attorney. The proceedings went quickly and Potter was then taken from the courtroom by Johnson County deputies.
Read the expanded version of this report at the Johnson City Press Web site.