ELIZABETHTON — A man and woman were indicted on murder charges by a Carter County grand jury on Tuesday. The pair are accused of killing 78-year-old Lonnie Townsend on April 17.
Both Timothy Jason Pate and Whitney Kristina Harris were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, felony murder and tampering with evidence. They are scheduled to be in Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Pate and Harris earlier had a preliminary hearing in Sessions Court on Aug. 15. Judge John Walton ruled sufficient evidence had been presented during a two-hour hearing to bind the couple over to a grand jury. Pate was bound over on the same charges he is now facing in Criminal Court. Harris was bound over on accessory after the fact of first-degree murder, accessory after the fact of felony murder and tampering with evidence charges.
Read more at the Johnson City Press.