Facts and truth are subjective terms. While seemingly written in stone what are deemed facts and truth are in the eyes of the person telling the story. I have gone back to original court records and newspaper articles at the time. What I have found is that most everyone is both right and wrong. The story you are most often to see on the internet is that this Jane Doe was brought to Knoxville by two truck drivers. The facts in court testimony is that she was brought to Knoxville in a car owned by 76 year old Percy Preston, who had been carjacked basically by two men. Percy testified in Greene County Tennessee that he had picked up three hitchikers. Two men and a woman. Percy identified the two men, but not the Jane Doe as being the woman. He would instead identify a Sue Spivey as being the woman. She would be charged with theft from Percy Preston. Neither men had ever been truck drivers.
According to court records and newspaper accounts... (keep in mind that Bristol is both in Virginia and Tennessee)
76 year old Percy Preston left his home in Bristol Virginia headed for Knoxville in the early hours of Sunday morning. He testified that he came across three hitchhikers and picked them up. Percy further testified that after picking the three up they gained control of his car between Bristol Tennessee and Knoxville. Being their captive they robbed him and drove him in his car around Knoxville all day. At some point they took the woman back to her home on Dry Gap road and then started driving Percy back to Bristol Virginia.
The two men stopped at a rest stop on I-81 where they found our Jane Doe at about 1:15. They pushed Percy from the car and picked up our Jane Doe. They proceeded back south to Knoxville, a 55 minute drive. At 1:30 police were called to the rest stop for the disoriented Percy Preston. One hour later our Jane Doe was shot on the porch in Knoxville.
The men would testify that they had been partying with the Jane Doe in an abandoned building. They had loaned her a shirt because hers was worn out. If it took 55 minutes to drive to the death scene and she was killed 60 minutes after being picked up, they had no time to party and probably no time to loan her a shirt. It is my opinion she jumped from the car, ran to the house screaming, "he has a knife" trying to escape the two men. The ladies in the house as well as the 911 operator testified hearing her yell, "he has a knife."
The two women in the house called the police because Jane Doe was beating on their door screaming. When Jane Doe tried to open the door one of the ladies shot and killed her. They gave a description of the fleeing men and the car. The car would be found one block from the scene of the shooting covered in brush. It was the 1977 Chevy Impala registered to Percy Preston.
