Arrest In Village Homicide

Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider today announced the arrest of John Lee Nevans, age 67, of 330 Highland Drive, Dayton, TN in the homicide case of Ron Kronholm of Tellico Village, who was killed with multiple gunshot wounds.

Nevans is charged with 1^st Degree Murder and being held at Loudon County Jail under zero bond (without bond). He was arraigned this morning and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, October 6. (rescheduled to October 27^th) Nevans is a former business partner of the victim who had informed others he was unhappy with Mr. Kronholm over financial issues. Evidence at this time includes video from the Hwy 72 Deli in Loudon, blood spatter on Mr. Nevan’s clothes, maroon paint transfer on Mr. Nevan’s white Ford pick-up truck that is consistent with the color of the victim’s van, which also had white paint transfer on it, and inconsistent statements from the defendant. Other information also came to surface about Mr. Nevan’s desire to leave the country.

Sheriff Guider would like to thank District Attorney General Russell Johnson and ADA Frank Harvey for their assistance, and predicating the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to process the crime scene. A huge “thank you” to the technicians who responded along with TBI Agent Barry Brakebill.

He also thanks the Dayton Police Department and Chief Sneed for their assistance and accommodations to Loudon County investigators while they conducted their investigation. Lastly he commends the officers who responded to this tragic event for doing an outstanding job, particularly the investigative unit who has put in countless hours of hard work to see that this horrific crime was solved.

Sheriff: Money, broken partnership triggered Tellico Village murder

By Matt Lakin knoxnews.com

LOUDON - Money woes and a broken business partnership led to the shotgun killing of a Tellico Village contractor in his wheelchair, authorities said today.

John Lee Nevans, 67, of Dayton, Tenn., faces a charge of first-degree murder in the Sept. 23 death of Ron Kronholm, Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider said.

"He was just very unhappy with the way things had turned out," the sheriff said.

Kronholm, 79, suffered from a degenerative muscle disease and had built nearly 100 homes around the Tellico Village area over the past decade. His wife, Susan, came home last Thursday around 5:05 p.m. and found him shot repeatedly inside their million-dollar home on Cheeskogili Way on the lake.

Kronholm's wife had left town the day of his death to visit a relative and asked someone to stay with him. The caretaker left that afternoon as the wife headed home, leaving Kronholm alone around 3:40 p.m.

He died sometime in the next 85 minutes. Investigators believe Nevans walked through the front door to the dining room and opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun on a man whose condition left him no defense, the sheriff said.

Contradictory statements Nevans made to police, together with video from a nearby deli where he stopped for a flat tire, added up with other evidence to lead to his arrest Tuesday night, according to an arrest warrant.

Kronholm's death came just five months after a fatal shooting in April a few blocks away. Norman Bren Whitton, 69, faces a charge of second-degree murder after authorities said he shot Larry Butcher, 74, during an argument April 15 on Cheestana Way. Whitton has claimed self-defense.

Authorities have called the two killings unusual but unrelated.