Nashville man pleads guilty to first-degree murder accused of hitting wife with hammer and burying her in DeKalb County

August 29, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Nashville man accused of murdering his wife on New Year’s Day and burying her body in a freshly dug grave on his property in the Belk Community of DeKalb County was sentenced in Davidson County Criminal Court Wednesday.

70-year-old Joseph Michael Glynn charged with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse entered a plea to first degree murder and received a life prison sentence.

The charges stem from an incident that took place on New Year’s Day where Glynn allegedly admitted to striking 76-year-old Jackie Glynn in the head with a hammer.

After the attack, officials said Glynn brought her body to DeKalb County and buried her. While in DeKalb County, Glynn also hid and towed the victim’s Toyota Rav 4, according to an arrest report.

Law enforcement found the victim buried in DeKalb County on Friday, January 5. Glynn allegedly told officers that he threw the murder weapon in the trash.

In addition to disposing of the murder weapon, Glynn also admitted to officers that he sold some of the victim’s belongings to several individuals after the murder, authorities said.

According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, the Glynn’s primary residence was at 2418 Abbott Martin Road, Nashville and that is where the murder of Jackie Glynn is believed to have occurred on New Year’s Day. Two years ago the Glynn’s purchased, in Jackie’s name, 6.99 acres at 4629 Allen Bend Road in the Belk Community.

Although there was no house on the property, the Glynn’s were believed to have stayed in a camper trailer when in DeKalb County. Sheriff Ray said Mr. Glynn had contacted a local realtor as late as Thursday, January 4 wanting to list the property for sale but the realtor was out of town and couldn’t meet with him at that time.

After Ms. Glynn was reported missing by family members, Metro Police had a TBI Silver Alert issued asking for the public’s help in locating her especially since she had a medical condition that might have impaired her ability to return safely without assistance. The alert stated that Ms. Glynn might be driving a 2010 Toyota RAV4.

On Friday, January 5 Sheriff Ray said Metro Police contacted his department asking them to do a welfare check at the Glynn property on Allen Bend Road after learning from Mr. Glynn during a police interview that he had property in DeKalb County and that he had been there on Friday morning conducting a bon fire. Later during the investigation, Glynn confessed to the crime.

When DeKalb County officers arrived, Sheriff Ray said they met Jackie’s son who was also there looking for his mother, not knowing what had happened. They also spoke to a neighbor who had reported having spotted a freshly dug hole on the property earlier but that in recent days she noticed that the hole had been filled.

“We went onto the property and found what we thought to be a burial site. We found out that the hole was dug on December 16 by a contractor who had been told by Mr. Glynn that he wanted the hole for a burn pit. The hole was six feet wide, ten feet long, and six feet deep,” said Sheriff Ray.

“We called TBI and the office of the District Attorney General. DA Bryant Dunaway and DA Criminal Investigator Chris Isom joined us at the scene along with TBI agents and two detectives from Metro,” Sheriff Ray explained.

“Our deputies dug down and found Ms. Glynn’s body inside a plastic vehicle cargo box. It was in the bottom of the grave with brand new roofing shingles piled on it nearly to the top of the ground and all of that covered with dirt. After the county medical examiner came to the scene, the body was removed and taken to Nashville for an autopsy.

“We learned that Ms. Glynn’s vehicle was in the Belk area and we found it on Barnes Mill Road. We also learned that the murder weapon was a hammer, and that Glynn had thrown it in the Keltonburg Community Center compactor.”

No local charges were filed against Glynn.

Jackie Glynn was the owner or former owner of a popular Nashville wedding venue “Riverwood Mansion”.

In addition to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the TBI, District Attorney General’s Office (13th District), and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department were all involved in the investigation.

Meanwhile, another arrest was made in the case later by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. 29-year-old Anthony Tate “Rooster” Miller of Allen Bend Road was charged with filing a false report. Although Miller was not accused of being an accomplice in the murder, Sheriff Ray said Miller gave conflicting stories to investigators about his contact with Glynn and his knowledge about how Ms. Glynn’s vehicle, a Toyota RAV4 got to where it was found abandoned on Barnes Mill Road. The case against Miller remains pending in court

August 29, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Honoring the “King of Center Hill”!

Family and friends of the late Darwin Gard gathered at Sligo bridge for a brief but special ceremony Tuesday evening to pay tribute to the man affectionately known as the “King of Center Hill” for his decades of service operating Sligo Marina.

The event, hosted by State Representative Michael Hale, was held to commemorate the state’s naming of Sligo bridge the “Darwin Gard Memorial Bridge”.

State Representative Hale recently introduced and pushed through legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly to honor Gard in this way and the effort was backed by the DeKalb County Commission.

From the early 1970s until his death in December 2017 at the age of 85, the name Darwin Gard and Sligo Marina were synonymous. For many years Gard was manager of the boat dock and later stayed on as an employee until his retirement in July, 2015. Mr. Gard was a retired veteran of the Air Force, serving from 1950-1971, he served in the Korean and Vietnam War. Darwin was a professional fisherman for Hydra Sport and Winner Boats. He was a well-known and respected fishing guide on Center Hill Lake.

“I enjoy when we get the opportunity to do things like this,” said Representative Hale. “It’s an honor to give honor where honor is due and I think this is past due. Mr Gard served our country for about 21 years in the service and then he ran the marina here for many years. His family is one we love dearly and when they came to me about this I said we will push it and make it happen. I am thankful for the county commission having their blessings on it for us to be able to take it to the state general assembly and getting this passed to honor Mr. Gard and his legacy here at Center Hill Lake,” said State Representative Hale.

“Its been a long time coming,” said Michele Roller, daughter of Mr. Gard. “ After daddy passed away we were not thinking anything about this but someone approached us and got the ball rolling trying to find out what we needed to do. After many years, my mom, myself, and others went to Michael Hale with this. It means a lot to know there was this kind of support for my dad. People still remember him and even today if you mention Sligo, they’ll talk about him,” she said.

Roller recalled how her father’s long association with Sligo Marina began.

“He came down here (from Missouri) to fish in 1971 with his brother, Ronnie Gard who had moved here and he left with a job offer. Daddy went back to Missouri and then packed us all up and moved us here to the cabins and we have been here ever since,” said Roller.

“When we came to Tennessee, I had never heard of this place,” said daughter Denise Holcomb. “I thought where in the world are we going? We moved into two cabins because there were six of us and this became home. We have been here over 50 years and love it. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Holcomb continued. “Dad was always surrounded by people that knew and loved him here and its just an honor for this bridge to be named after him. He gave his heart and life to this place. We are so proud,” added Holcomb.

Tony Luna, whose family once owned Sligo Marina, said this tribute to Mr. Gard is well deserved.

“My family bought Sligo Marina in the early 1980s and Darwin was definitely a fixture down here. I got to know him from my teenage years and from then on until he passed away. He was like family to me. My dad thought the world of him. They were really close friends. He worked for my dad and he worked for the owners of the marina before we bought it. I am glad this happened. It is well deserved and I hope everybody comes down here to take a selfie of Darwin’s bridge here,” said Luna.

August 29, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

WJLE’s “Fearless Forecasters” are returning for another season of college pigskin prognosticating today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m.

This season’s regulars are Dewain Hendrixson, Scott Brown, Scott Goodwin, Chad Kirby, the James Gang (Grant and Jeff James), Ricky Atnip, John Pryor, The Gill Gang (Darrell, Eli or Noah Gill), and Alex Woodward.

The “Fearless Forecasters” pick who they believe will win in fourteen of the biggest or most interesting college football games of the week along with the Tennessee Titans games.

They also make an underdog selection each week.

The Fearless Forecaster with the best record and most underdog points is awarded at the end of the season.

Ricky Atnip will be looking to defend his 2023 title as the WJLE Fearless Forecaster of the year. During the college football season in 2023 including bowl games, Ricky compiled the overall best record picking winners in 253 games at 171-82. He was back-to-back winner in 2022 and 2023. For the third year in a row, Atnip also accumulated the most underdog points during the season at 67 points in 2023. Ricky was presented the “WJLE Fearless Forecasters Joe Goodwin Memorial Awards” during last year’s season finale show in January. He is sponsored on the show by the Charles D. Atnip Realty & Auction Company.

The program is sponsored by DeKalb County Ace Hardware, FirstBank, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, DeKalb County Insurance, Gill Automotive, the Charles D. Atnip Realty & Auction Company, Wilson Bank & Trust, and Domino’s Pizza.

Catch the “Fearless Forecasters” LIVE during the college football season weekly starting today (Thursday, August 29) at 4:30 p.m. on WJLE.

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