| Maryville man was strangled before his body,
belongings were dumped in Loudon County
A Maryville man reported missing this summer was
strangled by one of the men charged in his death, while the other
suspect disposed of his body, court records show.
Nicholas Allen Huston, 26, West Franklin Street,
Alcoa, is accused in an affidavit of complaint on file in Blount
County General Sessions Court of strangling 49-year-old Robert
Schultz during an argument.
John Edward Gauthier, 40, West Franklin Street,
Alcoa, is accused in another affidavit of dumping Schultz’s body and
his belongings in Loudon County.
The complaints state Huston and Gauthier, who
live together, got into a physical altercation with Schultz at
their West Franklin Street residence on July 24.
Huston admitted he “placed his arms around the
throat/neck of the victim and squeezed” until Schultz was dead,
one complaint reads.
An autopsy revealed strangulation as the cause of
death, according to the complaints.
Gauthier is accused of wrapping Schultz’s body in
a blanket and placing him in the back seat of Schultz’s truck
before driving to Loudon County and dumping the body, vehicle
and Schultz’s cellphone.
The cellphone and truck were found on July 27 at
two separate locations in Loudon County, police said.
On July 28, the body was found on
Friendsville Road in Loudon County.
Huston and Gauthier each face a charge of
criminal homicide. They remain held at the Blount County
Jail on $1 million bond each.
Schultz had been staying at a residence on
Tainan Drive in Maryville, police said. A man who also lives
there called police the night of July 26 to report Schultz
as a missing person.
The man told police Schultz arrived at the
residence around midnight July 24 to borrow some money for
his girlfriend, according to a police report. Schultz
reportedly left about five minutes later and was not seen or
heard from after that. He supposedly was headed to his
girlfriend’s residence in Loudon, but never arrived.
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10/8/18