ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) — Carter County homicide victim William “Bill” Hitchcock Jr. is remembered by neighbors as a kind soul who had no enemies.
Hitchcock rented out property close to his home on Old Stoney Creek Road and treated even his renters as friends.
“I didn’t know that anybody would have anything against Bill or anything like that,” said renter Hubert Buchanan. “He comes up here about once a month to collect the rent and we always got along good.”
Buchanan rented property for his auto business from Hitchcock and was planning to take a motorcycle trip with him.
Whitney Fields has rented her house from Hitchcock for about a year and a half now. She often watches young children and likes to take them down by the river, near where Hitchcock’s body was found.
She doesn’t feel safe doing that anymore.
“It felt honestly kind of terrifying because this has always felt like such a safe, quiet little corner,” said Fields. “Nobody ever comes over here and to think that something like that happened 40 feet away from my house.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Carter County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
Sheriff Mike Fraley said they are investigating this case as a homicide because they did not find the murder weapon at the scene.
“We’re investigating a lot of leads at this time,” said Fraley. “And we’ve had a lot of calls come in on this. We’re treating every call seriously. We appreciate the public input.”
If you have any information that could help with this case, you’re asked to call the Carter County Sheriff’s Office.
