He has pled not guilty and will be facing the death penalty.
http://www.wjhl.com/story/28927946/...t-guilty-eric-azotea-amber-terrell-art-gibson
Eric Azotea, the man charged with killing a Sullivan County couple that had been missing for months, entered a not guilty plea Wednesday morning. Now, the state says it will seek the death penalty.
Previously, the 43-year-old confessed to the crimes. He was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of abuse of a corpse, and altering evidence.
Family members of Amber Terrell watched silently Wednesday as the man accused of killing their loved one entered a not guilty plea.
Attorneys Steve Finney and Gene Scott represented Azotea as they asked for permission to go back and look at the crime scene on Woodland Drive in Carter County. Judge Keith Bowers granted the defense attorneys permission to visit a home, but they will be accompanied by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Carter County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said in an effort to cover the crime, Azotea dismembered the bodies and burned them. Last week, investigators uncovered the remains of Terrell and Art Gibson - wrapped in plastic and hidden in a crawl space.
District Attorney Tony Clark told News Channel 11, the crimes are the most heinous he has ever seen, "...one of the worst that I've seen - other than Howard Hawk Willis - in the way of being more than just a killing or alleged killing, it's much more than that."
Investigators claim Azotea killed the Sullivan County couple, reported missing in January, over a drug debt..
"Forensically, there's still some ongoing investigation. And of course, we don't have anything in the way of lab reports, We don't have anything back as of yet, but we'll try to expedite that," said District Attorney Clark.
Clark says his office plans to file a motion to seek the death penalty within a week.
"You have to have a first degree murder, and then the aggravating factors of the bodies and it involving more than one person. There were two victims in this particular case. We think there's more than enough in the way of aggravating factors to ask for the death penalty in this case."
Azotea remains behind bars without bond in Carter County.
A TBI agent, previously told News Channel 11, Azotea served 13 years of a 15-year federal sentence and said he got out of prison in December 2013.
A preliminary hearing has been set for June 11.