A man suspected of torching of a historic Tennessee church is also charged with murdering a woman whose body was found inside the charred remains.
According to The Chattanoogan, 36-year-old Kyle Hickox is suspected of killing Linda Buchanan, 69, in St. Mark AME Zion Church in Athens before setting the building ablaze.
He was charged Friday with second-degree murder.
According to WZTV in Nashville, the murder and fire occurred Aug. 15.
Hickox was first confronted by a maintenance man who found him trespassing on the grounds of Tennessee Wesleyan University, the station reported.
The maintenance man told authorities he saw Hickox run to the church and go inside.
Hickox was also captured on surveillance video running from the church with his shirt in his hands.
He hosed his body down at a university soccer field, according to WZTV.
WZTV did not state what time that interaction took place, but St. Mark burned to the ground that evening.
Hickox was arrested Friday, a week and a day after the fire.
A woman whose body was found inside was originally believed to have died in the blaze, but investigation showed otherwise, according to the Chattanoogan.
BREAKING UPDATE: The TBI says an arrest has been made in the homicide of Linda Buchanan and St. Mark AME Zion Church fire. Autopsy results found Buchanen died before the church fire. https://t.co/GqTTIANhY0
— Local 3 News (@Local3News) August 24, 2024
The woman was identified as Linda Buchanan, a 69-year-old church secretary beloved in her community, according to WTVC.
“Oh, my goodness, Miss Linda was loved by everyone, and she’s certainly going to be missed,” one friend told the station.
“There’s not a person that did not love her. She was just special, and she made everyone feel special.”
“The community is going to miss her. We’re all going to miss her,” another friend said.
“Anyone who knew Miss Linda is going to miss this dear, precious saint of God, and it hurts, but we know where she is.”
Should this suspect face a minimum of life in prison if convicted?
Hickox was booked into the McMinn County Jail on $600,000 bond, according to The Chatanoogan. He has since been released, Fox News reported.
Second-degree murder is a Class A felony in Tennessee, which can draw a sentence of anywhere from 15 to 60 years in prison, according to the Tennessee state code.
Athens is in eastern Tennessee, about an hour north of Chattanooga.
