Judge Rejects Plea Deal For Sevier County Murder Suspect

A judge in Sevier County has rejected a plea deal for a man accused of killing his mother 3 and a half years ago. Joshua Carr is accused of killing his mother in September of 2020 after he stabbed her 77 times, nearly decapitating her. Carr also stabbed his grandmother while she was trying to stop him during the attack. Back in 2020, Carr became the focus of the investigation and he was found a few days after the murder in Michigan. He was then transported back to Sevier County.

Carr is charged with first degree murder and aggravated assault. A plea agreement had been reached reducing the charges from first to second degree murder and aggravated assault to assault. The judge thought in his ruling stated that this is one of the most shocking cases he has seen in his 40 years in law. The judge stated that the court has “the responsibility to review and approve or reject plea agreements, the court must fulfill that responsibility as fully and seriously as it possibly can, weighing all factors. In so doing that, this court does not believe justice in this case will be served by the acceptance of this plea to the charge.”

The judge then scheduled the trial for Joshua Carr to begin later this year on September 16.