Hugh G. Willett, knoxnews.com
Authorities
have identified an 18-year old Lenoir City man found dead this morning
as Stephen Michael Booth and deputies are questioning several people in
connection with the death.Booth’s body was discovered this morning behind a car near the Yarberry Peninsula Campground.
“The body had sustained substantial trauma around the head,” said Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider. “We are treating this as a homicide.”
A passerby reported the body a little before 8 a.m. lying on the ground behind an early 1990s-model Chevrolet Caprice or Impala, Guider said.
Responding officers knew the victim, and the vehicle was registered to his brother, also from Loudon County.
Booth graduated this year from Greenback School, a Loudon County schools spokeswoman said.
His body was removed about noon and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
Preliminary findings are expected by Friday.
“We’re still unsure what caused the trauma, whether it was a gunshot or some other weapon,” Guider said.
The parking lot where the body is found is typically used by boaters and campers.
More details as they develop online and in Thursday’s News Sentinel.