Son charged with mom's methadone overdose

MAYNARDVILLE - Authorities arrested a Lenoir City man this week in the drug overdose that killed his mother last year.

Gregory A. Thompson, 57, faces a charge of second-degree murder, Union County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Mike Butcher said. He remained in jail today with bond set at $500,000.

Authorities said Thompson gave his 74-year-old mother, Jacqueline, a lethal dose of methadone at her home on Dark Hollow Road in Andersonville five months ago.

"They were probably sharing medication," Butcher said.

Thompson's sister found her mother dead Oct. 23 and called police. The investigation stretched out for months as detectives Philip Johnson and Steve Rouse and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent Jerry Spoon waited for results of toxicology tests, Butcher said.

Authorities filed the charges and arrested Thompson in Lenoir City on Monday.