Lafourche Parish, LA (WOKI) A suspect in a nearly 40-year-old Louisiana cold case has been arrested in East Tennessee.
Officials with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office say deputies helped Louisiana authorities Wednesday arrest Judith “Judy” Weiser.
Weiser and Russell Lee are charged in the murder of 22-year-old Paula Boudreaux back in 1986. Her remains were found a few years later outside of New Orleans; she was unidentified until last year.
Lee was taken into custody in Missouri on Tuesday.
According to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, once Boudreaux’s remains were identified, Lee and Weiser became persons of interest after detectives revealed Lee was in relationships with both Boudreaux and Weiser at the time of the murder.
Investigators determined that Lee and Weiser killed Boudreaux, dismembered her body and dumped the remains in Slidell, a town of less than 30,000 outside of New Orleans, according to the sheriff’s office.
Both Lee and Weiser were charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice with bail set at $1.1 million each. Police in Louisiana said they will be taken and booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office helped Louisiana police take Judith Weiser into custody on Wednesday. (Courtesy: CCSO)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee head men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Wednesday title elevations for three members of his staff.
A Knoxville native and two-time Tennessee graduate, Campbell is entering the third year of his second stint on Barnes’ staff. This will be his ninth season associated with the Volunteer basketball program dating back to 2015-16, good for all but one in Barnes’ tenure.
“Over nearly a decade, I have seen Lucas grow from an eager walk-on freshman my first season here at Tennessee into now a rising star in the coaching profession,” Barnes said. “This school and this basketball program mean so much to Lucas. He has been a key part of our staff over the past two years and has played a major role in our strong recruiting efforts, which he will continue to do while taking on additional responsibilities he is assuredly ready for.”
The Christian Academy of Knoxville graduate competed for the Volunteers as a walk-on from 2015-19, Barnes’ first four years at the helm, aiding the team to an SEC regular season crown in 2018 and a Sweet 16 berth in 2019. He then served as a graduate assistant from 2019-21 before departing to East Tennessee State University, where he worked as the director of basketball operations in 2021-22.
Campbell returned to his alma mater in June 2022 as the director of recruiting. For the past two years, he has coordinated all aspects of Tennessee’s recruiting efforts, ranging from logistical elements of on-campus visits to coach travel and beyond.
During his eight seasons with Tennessee, Campbell has been a part of two SEC regular season titles, five NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16 berths, an Elite Eight trip and four AP top-20 finishes. The Volunteers own a 175-93 (.653) record during that time.
Lentz is entering his seventh season at Tennessee, the second school at which he has worked under Barnes. He served as the Volunteers’ director of player development for six years, dating back to his arrival on Rocky Top in May 2018.
“Bryan has a strong basketball mind and possesses nearly a quarter-century of coaching experience,” Barnes said. “His passion for assisting the young men in our program become the absolute best they can be, both on and off the court, is unrivaled. We have shared a great deal of success together, both during his first six seasons at Tennessee and previously at Texas, and I know he will help our program continue its upward trajectory in his new role.”
Like Barnes, Lentz is a native of Hickory, N.C., and a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University, where he was an all-conference honoree. He got his start in coaching at his alma mater, working under his father, John, the Bears’ head coach. Lentz was an assistant coach from 2001-08 and then an associate head coach from 2008-10.
From 2010-14, Lentz worked for Barnes at the University of Texas. He was the special assistant/video coordinator for the Longhorns for four years, helping the team go 88-51 (.633) with three NCAA Tournament appearances and one AP top-10 finish.
Lentz departed Texas for Appalachian State University in 2014 and worked as an assistant coach for the Mountaineers for four seasons. Since his reunion with Barnes at Tennessee in 2018, the Volunteers are 145-57 (.718) with five NCAA Tournament bids, three Sweet 16 trips, one Elite Eight appearance, four AP top-20 finishes, an SEC regular season championship and an SEC Tournament trophy.
Collins is headed into his third season at Tennessee after working as a graduate assistant in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Volunteers won 25-plus games and reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament during each of his first two campaigns, including winning the SEC regular season title and making the Elite Eight this past season.
“From the first day he arrived at Tennessee, Riley has made his presence felt within our facility,” Barnes said. “He is a tireless worker who gives this program everything he can each day. After seeing all the ways Riley aided our program the past two years, it was clear he deserved a full-time position and I am thrilled he accepted that opportunity.”
A native of Lacey, N.J., Collins is a graduate of Drew University, where he set a school record with 1,973 points and earned 2020 Reese’s All-America status. He was a four-time First Team All-Landmark Conference designee and a three-time team captain.
From 2019-22, Collins was the head coach for the New Jersey Panthers, an AAU team he led to a league title in 2020. He worked as a graduate assistant at Marymount University from 2020-22 and also has experience assisting NBA players with skill development workouts.
Entering the 2024-25 campaign, the entire full-time Tennessee men’s basketball staff remains intact. This is the second straight offseason no such individual has elected to depart Rocky Top.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Early voting starts tomorrow (Friday) for this year’s August 1st election.
This is the election to vote for the U.S. Senate and House races along with State Senators and Representatives.
You can vote in person at several early voting locations across Knox County.
State/Federal Primary, County General, Town of Farragut Election
Early Voting begins Friday, July 12 Election Day: Thursday, August 1
NEW EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS FARRAGUT/WEST KNOX Knox County Election Commission – west office 109 Lovell Heights Road (behind Synergy Car Wash on Kingston Pike)
EAST KNOX COUNTY Carter Elementary School 8455 Strawberry Plains Pike
GIBBS/CORRYTON Gibbs Ruritan Club 7827 Tazewell Pike
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The University of Tennessee placed 136 student-athletes on the 2023-24 First-Year Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll that was announced Wednesday by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
That total was the most UT has ever had on the First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll. It marked an improvement of 22 over the previous record of 114 who made the list in 2022-23.
Furthermore, that tally raised Tennessee’s total number of student-athletes recognized in 2023-24 to a program-record 448 combined on the Fall, Winter, Spring and First-Year SEC Academic Honor Rolls. That’s an improvement of 46 over last year and marks the ninth-consecutive year that Tennessee has seen an increased total number of student-athletes on SEC Honor Rolls.
On the 2023-24 First-Year SEC Honor Roll, men’s track & field led the way for Tennessee with 32 student-athletes recognized, followed by women’s track & field with 28 and baseball with 25. Other programs and their numbers of recipients include soccer (8), men’s basketball (7), women’s swimming & diving (7), softball (5), rowing (4), men’s tennis (4), volleyball (4), women’s basketball (3), football (2), men’s swimming & diving (2), women’s tennis (2), women’s golf (2) and men’s golf (1).
A total of 1,459 student-athletes from around the league were named to the 2023-24 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll, which is based on grades from the 2023-24 academic calendar.
Any student‐athlete who participates in a Southeastern Conference championship sport or a student‐athlete who participates in a sport listed on his/her institution’s NCAA Sports Sponsorship Form is eligible for nomination to the Academic Honor Roll.
The criteria below will be followed:
(1) A student‐athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution.
(2) If a student‐athlete attends summer school, his/her grade point average during the summer academic term must be included in the calculation used to determine eligibility for the Academic Honor Roll.
(3) Student‐athletes eligible for the Honor Roll include those receiving an athletics scholarship, recipients of an athletics award (i.e., letter winner), and non-scholarship student‐athletes who have been on a varsity team for two seasons.
(4) Prior to being nominated, a student‐athlete must have successfully completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of non‐remedial academic credit toward a baccalaureate degree at the nominating institution.
(5) The student‐athlete must have been a member of a varsity team for the sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.
First-year student‐athletes in all sports may be named to the Honor Roll at the conclusion of their first full academic year in residence (spring, fall and summer terms).
2023-24 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll University of Tennessee
The Knoxville Fire Department is investigating an early morning fire in Fountain City.
Crews called to the 2300 block of Fair Drive and the resident told firefighters his dog woke him up barking then his alarm went off but he didn’t smell any smoke.
KFD crews discovered a small fire in an office in the basement of the home and quickly put it out.
The home has suffered moderate smoke damage and some fire and water damage in the basement.
No Injuries were reported. The American Red Cross is assisting the occupant.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Tazewell pain clinic owner is sentenced to more than four years behind bars for his role in operating a pill mill in both Tennessee and Florida.
According to District Attorney Charme Allen, 63-year-old Clyde Tipton was sentenced to 50 months in prison Monday; he will be on supervised release for three years when he gets out.
He is the last person to be sentenced in the pill mill case, which resulted in about 140 people receiving federal criminal convictions.
As part of Tipton’s plea agreement, Allen says he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money and two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay healthcare kickbacks.
There were four clinics in and around Knoxville, each of which was a pill mill, that were connected to several other locations in Hollywood, Florida. (Credit: Frankly Media)
Morristown, TN (WOKI) A double murder suspect at the center of a manhunt out of Grainger County is now in custody.
Officials with the U.S. Marshals Service announcing Wednesday afternoon that 34-year-old Aaron White was reportedly found at his Morristown home.
White is a suspect in a double homicide that happened in May. According to investigators, White killed 49-year-old Jon Atkins and 32-year-old Deven McDaniel, whose bodies were discovered along Rocky Springs Road in Bean Station on May 25.
The U.S. Marshals, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers had all offered rewards for information leading to White’s arrest.
U.S. Marshals Service officials Wednesday confirmed that the reward will go unawarded.
Morristown man charged in Grainger County double murder caught, U.S. Marshals say. (Courtesy: TBI)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Hemp retailers in East Tennessee are planning to sue the state Department of Agriculture because of new rules the agency is creating.
The Department of Agriculture is looking to redefine what’s legal in Tennessee, which could cause business owners to lose more than half of the products on their shelves.
Now, hemp stores are on a time crunch to stop the state’s new rules. The emergency rules include changing how the state tests hemp.
The Department of Agriculture is creating rules in an attempt to get rid of products closely related to a marijuana high from store shelves.
Lawyers working with hemp stores say other states have had court cases on this and the hemp stores have won.
Hemp retailers in East Tennessee are planning to sue the state Department of Agriculture because of new rules the agency is creating. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man who prosecutors say shot at a Knox County deputy during a traffic stop will spend nearly two decades behind bars.
Floyd Allen Dalton Jr. appeared in court Tuesday pleading guilty in connection to last May’s shooting near West Emory Road after officers tried to stop him for reckless driving.
It’s not the only time Dalton has been accused of firing on officers who try to stop him.
Investigators say he fired 30 shots at deputies and rammed into a cruiser during a high speed chase that went through multiple counties in October of last year. No one was hurt.
