Local man will face murder charg

“(Cannon) claims that an altercation, a confrontation had occurred with his sister and his fiancée prior to the shooting, and it’s unsure as to what exactly caused him to start shooting randomly,” Tim Guider, Loudon County sheriff, said in 2017.

The “first officer on the scene was four minutes after the call came out, and the suspect was taken into custody without incident at that time,” he added. “Aid was rendered to the victims, at which point the fiancée, Bethany McKenzie, was pronounced dead at the scene. The sister, Taylor Creamer, was transported to an area hospital where she later passed.”

An incident report notes Cannon and McKenzie were arguing while driving with three children in Lenoir City, which led to McKenzie exiting the vehicle at the intersection of U.S. Highways 321 and 11. McKenzie contacted Creamer for a ride home. When the two arrived at the residence where Cannon had brought the three children, another argument began inside the home. That is when Cannon retrieved a 9mm Smith and Wesson, followed the two into the yard and fired shots.

On Oct. 18, Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks in Morgan County was scheduled to hear defense motions. Johnson said all motions filed were standard requests for disclosure of information except one, which sought more information on charges involving injuries to one of the children present during the shootings. Additional records were provided about the child’s injuries.

“The other charges have to do with the children being present when the crime was committed,” Johnson said in an email correspondence. “One child in particularly exposed as it is believed that he attended his mother’s injuries just after she was shot.”

Cannon is represented by attorney Robert Kurtz of Knoxville. He could not be reached for comment by News-Herald presstime.

Johnson’s office is represented by Robert Edwards and Jonathan Edwards.