GUILTY TN - Arthur Gibson, 38, & Amber Terrell, 22, Johnson City, 7 Jan 2015

[OkieGranny]

From April:

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Cou...ee-murder-make-court-appearances-on-Wednesday

Azotea’s trial was tentatively set for September 2017.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Carter County judge appoints new attorneys for man accused of killing local couple - December 6th

http://wjhl.com/2016/12/06/carter-county-judge-appoints-new-attorneys-for-man-accused-of-killing-local-couple/

Eric Azotea, the man accused of killing a local couple and hiding their bodies beneath his home, appeared in a Carter County courtroom on Tuesday morning.

Judge Stacy Street appointed new counsel for Azotea after his previous attorney was removed from the case due to a conflict of interest. Judge Street appointed Gene Scott as his attorney and Dan Smith his co-counsel.

His next motion hearing is set for January 25, 2017. His trial is expected to begin in mid-September.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Azotea hearing held on Wednesday

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Courts/2017/01/25/Azotea-haring-held-on-Wednesday.html

In Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Stacy Street agreed that charges relating to an escape attempt from the Carter County Jail, where Azotea was being held in pretrial confinement, would not be included in the trial. Azotea is facing two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of abuse of a corpse and one count of tampering with evidence. He is facing a possible death sentence in a trial set for September.

Also, Street set a motions hearing for June 1. He set a May 1 deadline for filing motions and May 15 for filing responses to motions. A final hearing will be held on Aug. 23 if needed.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Attorneys seek to suppress confession, disqualify DA in murder case

Attorneys for a man charged with two counts of first degree murder are seeking to suppress statements the man made to investigators and asking the court to disqualify the District Attorney General’s Office from prosecuting the case claiming members of that office are necessary witnesses in the case.

Attorney’s for Eric James Azotea, 45, of the Pinecrest community, filed a motion this month suppression of statements Azotea gave to investigators both before and after he was formally charged.

In the motion, Azotea’s attorneys — Gene Scott and Dan Smith —claim that during questioning, Azotea told investigators he wanted to speak to an attorney and while investigators said they would attempt to get an attorney for Azotea they continued to speak with him.

In the State’s response to the motions filed by Azotea’s attorneys, Assistant District Attorney Dennis Brooks states while Azotea asked for a lawyer at one point in the interview he later revoked that request and expressed his desire to negotiate a deal with investigators and prosecutors for his confession.

Hearing in murder case to continue on June 21 with TBI agent

As part of both motions, the defense states that during questioning by investigators Azotea invoked his constitutional right to counsel. After Azotea had invoked his right, the motion states that investigators communicated his request to the District Attorney’s Office which then attempted to secure counsel for the defendant and also advised investigators how to proceed after Azotea asked for an attorney.

The motion hearing will resume on June 21 at 1:30 p.m. and Street is expected to rule on the motion that day. If the motion to disqualify the District Attorney’s Office is denied, Street said he would also rule on the motion to suppress Azotea’s statement on June 21. However, if the motion to disqualify the District Attorney’s Office is granted, a ruling on the motion to suppress will be put off until after a new prosecutor is appointed in the case.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge denies motion to recuse DA’s office in double homicide case

http://www.elizabethton.com/2017/06/21/judge-denies-motion-to-recuse-das-office-in-double-homicide-case/

In May, attorneys for Eric James Azotea, 45, of the Pinecrest community, filed a pair of motions in the case — one seeking to suppress statements Azotea gave to investigators in which he reportedly confessed to two murders and one seeking to disqualify Clark and his office from prosecuting the case claiming they are necessary witnesses in the case.

In rendering his ruling on the motion, Street said state law dictates that no attorney shall be involved in prosecuting a case in which they are to be called as a “necessary witness” in a “contested” matter.

“I find the issue is not contested,” Street said. “He asked for a lawyer, and they tried to get him one.”

Street further said the video interview shows the interactions which are pertinent to whether or not Azotea rescinded his request for an attorney. Street ruled that conversations between members of the District Attorney’s staff were not relevant to whether or not Azotea invoked his right to counsel and then rescinded it.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge rules confession admissible in double murder case

http://www.elizabethton.com/2017/08/02/judge-rules-confession-admissible-in-double-murder-case/

Attorneys for Azotea filed a motion with the court seeking to suppress statements Azotea gave to investigators claiming officers violated his constitutional rights by continuing to interview Azotea after he had requested a lawyer. The District Attorney’s Office contends that Azotea chose to continue speaking with investigators by initiating those conversations and later rescinded his request for an attorney.

On Wednesday, Street issued a ruling declaring the confession to be admissible in evidence when Azotea stands trial.

Street granted the motion to delay the trial and set a new trial date for Feb. 5 through Feb. 16.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge allows warrants using victim's cellphone data in Carter County murder case

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Courts/2017/12/12/Motions-decided-in-Carter-County-death-penalty-murder-case-judge-will-allow-jury-to-see-search-warrants.html

The fifth motion — which could have turned the case upside down — asked Street to suppress the search warrants obtained to search Azotea’s Woodland Drive residence, all the evidence investigators seized at the home and the DNA samples taken from Azotea. The defense’s challenge said the warrants were based on inaccurate information used by investigators when they tracked Terrell’s cellphone using Verizon and AT&T records.

Street allowed the warrants and the evidence, ruling the defense had not showed investigators knowingly provided false information or that they were reckless, a state legal requirement. Street said if the two experts had written the affidavits in the same manner, that could have been a basis to suppress the search warrants.

“The court finds there was no attempt to deceive the court,” Street said, adding later in his ruling that “at most, those statements were negligent, not reckless.” Negligence, however, did not meet the burden required by law, he said.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Death penalty, pre-trial publicity on the table during pre-qualification jury selection in Eric Azotea double murder case

About 250 Carter County residents are expected to show up this morning in for pre-trial jury certification on two issues relating to a double homicide two years ago.

Those two issues are whether the potential juror can elect to impose the death penalty and to determine what pre-trial publicity they’ve heard and how it has affected their ability to sit as a fair and impartial juror. Each person will be interviewed individually so as to not taint the rest of the potential jurors. Logistics of the procedure will be tight as the actual voire dire will take place in the Carter County Criminal Court jury room in Elizabethton while the other potential jurors are seated in the courtroom.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Cou...ea-double-murder-case.html?ci=stream&lp=1&p=1

Once the judge and attorneys weed out jurors who have already formed an opinion about the case or who cannot vote for the death penalty and weeded those people out of the larger pool, the case will recess until Monday, Feb. 5. That’s when attorneys will start the process to select a trial jury, likely consisting of 14 or more people, who will hear evidence in the case. The trial is scheduled for two weeks — Feb. 5-16 — and because it is a death penalty case, the jury will be sequestered during the proceedings.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Azotea pleads guilty in murder case, sentenced to life without parole

On Wednesday morning, outside the presence of the jury, Azotea entered a guilty plea to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the start of the trial, Azotea entered a guilty plea to charges of tampering with evidence and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

A jury in the case was seated on Monday afternoon, and testimony in the trial began on Tuesday. However, a statement by a witness in the case brought the proceedings to a screeching halt on Tuesday afternoon.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Courts/2018/02/07/Life-in-prison-without-parole-for-convicted-murderer-Eric-Azotea.html?ci=stream&lp=2&p=1

Mandy Gibson, younger sister of Art Gibson, said her brother was kind and would help anyone that he could.

Gibson said her brother and Azotea had been friends for 20 years and the family considered Azotea part of their family. “I guess the question I’d like to know most is, why? Why did you take my brother away from his siblings, his children, his friends and his parents? We live with the fact we will never be able to see him smile, hear his laugh, feel his heartbeat. We’ll never be able to hug or kiss him and tell him how much we love him because you took that away from us.”

http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/man-pleads-guilty-in-deaths-of-sullivan-couple/article_cf175ac6-0c7f-11e8-836f-b70d9cde5084.html

Sandra Terrell, whose daughter, Amber, was reported missing in Sullivan County in 2015, said Amber “was just stepping out in the world” and “always had a smile.”

“You shot her in the back,” Terrell said. “You are a coward.”

“You are a monster,” Terrell said. “You need to be put in a cage.”