Newport Police Charge Man With Murder

The Newport Police Department has charged a man with murder regarding the case of a woman missing for over 2 weeks. On January 9, the family of Michelle Johnson contacted the Cocke County Sheriff’s office saying they had not seen her in several days. The Sheriff’s office turned the case over to the Newport Police department as Ms. Johnson resided at a home On Freeman Avenue.

In the course of their investigation, the Newport police detectives along with the TBI focused their attention on a main suspect, 30 year old Jerrod Martin. On Thursday, Martin led authorities to where he dumped Johnson’s body…which was a location off Hwy 321 near Limestone Way in Cosby. According to new Chief of Police Scott Lamb, no further details are being released at this time as this investigation is ongoing.

Jerrod Martin is being charged with First Degree Murder, Abuse of a corpse, and Tampering with Evidence.